Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL: The Numbers Gate
by OrdinalDragoon
Summary: When a strange organism know as the Duel Blood begins to appear all over Heartland, armed with only his skills, sheer determination, and a Number Card, Lennox Mori takes it upon himself to rid Heartland of this crisis. Little does he know that fighting the Duel Blood will drag him into an even bigger plot in the making...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A New Crisis

"Ok Kaus! End this!" A young boy yelled. The monster that stood in front of him was a large centaur-like warrior that was coated in a white armour and held a large golden glowing bow.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

Kaus raised its bow and pulled the string back, which appeared to be made from a blue light. Blue light began to cluster together which formed and arrow which was then launched at the opponent. The arrow hit the opponent at lightning speed and he fell to one knee.

 **Opponent: 1600 – 1800 = 0**

 **Opponent: LOSE**

"Yes!" The boy cheered as a screen shot with his face with the word Win appeared. The boy took off his D-Gazer as the augmented reality disappeared. It had a sky-blue lens with an arrowhead shaped red and silver body and a clip that curved around his left ear. The opponent groaned as they got up.

"Damn, lost again. You're pretty good" he said to the boy.

"Thanks" the boy replied sheepishly.

"I don't know why you haven't entered any tournaments yet? You could win with your skill" the opponent continued.

"Nah, tournaments aren't really my thing. Besides, tournament competitors are on a whole different level than me" the boy said. "But thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No problem man," the opponent said with a smile. "I'm off to see if there are any others who want to duel. See ya!" The opponent waved and walked off to find some other duelists in the area. The boy smiled as he waved back. It was his third victory in a row and things were looking good.

This was Lennox Mori, a 13-year-old boy who attended Heartland Academy. He was an average height Caucasian with dark blue eyes and crimson hair that was mostly swept back. The front part of his hair turns into two blonde strands that curved down behind his ears and reached his shoulders before spiking up and making a sort of 'V' shape. He currently wore the first-year Heartland Academy uniform which consisted of a white shirt that had red-lined sleeves and collar, a red tie and blue pants with brown shoes. It was currently duel period in Heartland Academy and everyone was enjoying the relaxation of having no classes for the rest of the day and the thrill of dueling. There was currently a ranking system in the school and Lennox happily sat in the top 30 of the first years.

"Hey Lennox! Awesome victory!" A voice called out. Lennox turned to see a familiar face he knew all too well.

"Hey Yuma" Lennox greeted as Yuma and his friend Kotori approached. Yuma was 13 like Lennox and had tan skin with red eyes and black and red hair that pointed out and upward. He too wore the first-year uniform just like Lennox, the only difference was that he had a gold pendant around his neck that originally belonged to his father, a man Lennox knew and respected well. Kotori was also 13 and wore the first-year uniform for girls. It was a schoolgirl outfit that had a pink collar and skirt. She had orange eyes and green hair that was tied back into a bun by a red ribbon. Yuma was what someone would call the class clown. He constantly acted like a goofball and competed in challenges which only ended up injuring or embarrassing him. But no matter how many times he failed, Yuma would just get back up and try again. It was a stubborn determination which is what Lennox liked about Yuma.

"Thanks, Yuma," Lennox said. "You win duels yet?" He asked.

"You mean has he lost any yet?" Kotori corrected. "He's lost twenty in a row."

"So, what?" Argued Yuma, now annoyed. "I've won before, and today I'm gonna win again!" He yelled. Lennox chuckled as he held his ears.

"Alright, if you winning means you'll stop shouting then you need to win every duel," he said.

"Which is almost impossible" Kotori chimed in. Yuma hung his head in shame while Lennox and Kotori just laughed. Yuma wasn't a terrible duelist, it was just that he wasn't as experienced in competitive play as most others and he always used force when dueling, trying to win by constantly attacking. This of course lead him into his opponent's traps.

"Uh oh, guys, trouble" Kotori said and pointed up a flight of stairs. Lennox stopped laughing and looked up. He quickly put his D-Gazer on and it flared into life, informing him of the current duel that was taking place. A screenshot of a person appeared in his lens.

"It's Tetsuo," Lennox said. Tetsuo was a large boy for his age. He wore the first-year uniform like his friends except he had a red cap on top of his head. This was against school rules but Tetsuo didn't care one bit. His hair stuck out from the front and sides of his cap. From what they could see what was happening, Tetsuo appeared to be struggling. The trio ran up the stairs to go and support their friend, only to realise it would all be in vain when they saw his opponent.

"Big Jaws and Skull Kraken" Yuma breathed as they saw the two monsters Tetsuo was facing off against. The first monster was a giant shark that had a bladed fin and a huge set of mechanical jaws and large sharp teeth that were too big to fit in its mouth. The next monster was the result of a cross between a human skull and an octopus. It was black and appeared to be made from bones. The most disturbing thing about it was the fact that the skull was upside down.

"If they're there then that means Tetsuo's opponent is-" Lennox began.

"Shark" finished Yuma. Tetsuo's opponent was indeed Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro. He was notorious around the school for being a bully and would take an opponent's deck if they lost. Shark, as everyone called him had dark blue eyes and pale skin. His hair was purple and hung down to look like tentacles, but curled up on the ends. He also had a light blue crown in front of his forehead. He also wore the Heartland Academy Second-Year uniform. This was the same as the first-year uniform except it had green-lined sleeves, tie and collar. He also had two grey rings on his right hand.

 **Current Status of Duel**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **VS**

 **Tetsuo: 800**

 **Shark's Field:**

 **Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF**

 **Skull Kraken: Level 3/DARK/Aqua/600 ATK/1600 DEF**

 **No active or set spell and traps**

 **Tetsuo's Field:**

 **Nothing**

Shark grinned as he watched his latest 'prey' squirm in fear.

"Alight Tetsuo, since I have two monsters on my field with the same level, I can use them to Xyz Summon!" Shark announced. He then raised his hand in the air. "So now I overlay my level 3 Big Jaws and Skull Kraken!" The two monsters then glowed their own respective attribute colours. Big Jaws blue for water and Skull Kraken purple for dark. They shot up into the air as streams of energy while Tetsuo and the spectators watched in amazement. A red portal opened up in front of Shark and the two monsters sailed in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Shark's new monster that burst out of the ground was a pair of sharks that were attached to the orange frame of a strange machine. This machine seemed to have small wings in place of the shark's fins and had a black compartment underneath them which stored its weapons. The shark's eyes were covered by the glass that was in front of them. Above the shark's heads was an additional wing that acted as support.

 **Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/1900 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Woah, an Xyz summon," Kotori said in awe.

"Yeah!" Yuma said ecstatically. "The coolest part about Xyz monsters is that the monsters used become overlay units. This allows them to support their new monster" Yuma explained. "I don't have a single Xyz monster, but I think their awesome" he continued.

"You and me both" Lennox agreed, still staring at the new monster. _"Ryoga has defiantly gotten stronger in these past few years. No wonder he made it to the National Duel Circuit"_ Lennox thought.

"Now Aero Shark! Attack him directly!" Shark ordered. The war machine obeyed and flew towards Tetsuo at an alarming speed, its jaws glowing white. It slammed into Tetsuo and knocked him off his feet as the last of his lifepoints were erased.

 **Tetsuo: 800 – 1900 = 0**

 **Tetsuo: LOSE**

"Tetsuo…" Yuma said worriedly.

"As per rules of our agreement, I'll be taking this" Shark said as he picked up Tetsuo's deck.

"What do you think you're doing with Tetsuo's deck?" Yuma yelled out. Shark turned to see Yuma, Kotori and Lennox standing there.

"You again" he growled angrily.

"What are you doing with Tetsuo's deck? I won't ask again." Yuma snapped angrily.

"Hey! Do you know who you're messing with?" One of Shark's lackeys said.

"Yeah, I know alright" Yuma countered. "The school bully Shark." Shark smiled.

"I'm no bully. I won this deck fair and square" he said raising his prize.

"What do you mean?" Lennox asked.

"It's simple really. Me and Tetsuo had a small deal. The winner would take the loser's deck" Shark explained.

"Is this true?" Yuma asked Tetsuo.

"It is," Tetsuo said shamefully. "But I had too! The said that I was a wannabe duelist who had no real talent and that I'd get nowhere."

Yuma growled at Shark angrily. These days Shark was just a horrible bully to everyone. He couldn't believe that they used to be friends.

"Well I guess that means Shark is no true duelist then since he steals other people's decks," Lennox said spitefully.

"And what do you mean by that?" Shark asked. "You've got no Xyz monsters in your deck and He's shit at the game" Shark countered, now referring to Yuma.

"So, what? I bet I could beat you" Yuma stated boldly. This caused Shark and his lackeys to start laughing.

"No way!" One of them said.

"Yeah! Shark's so good he's already participated in tournaments!" The other added.

"Yeah? Well one day I'm going to be a duel champion! And to prove it, I'll beat you and win Tetsuo's deck back!" Yuma yelled proudly.

"Did you say duel champion?" Shark asked darkly. This caused Yuma to step back in fear, all his bravery now gone as the menacing form of Shark stood in front of him.

"Do you have any idea how far you have to go to become duel champion?" Shark asked coldly.

"Well… I'm not sure…" Yuma stuttered.

"THEN DON'T TALK SO CASUALLY ABOUT IT!" Shark yelled in his face, causing Yuma to recoil in fear.

"Ryoga! Leave him alone!" Lennox yelled, now angry.

"Butt out Mori! This is between him and me!" Shark yelled back.

"Look, all we're asking for is Tetsuo's deck back and then we'll leave you alone" Lennox sighed. "Come on, we used to be friends, didn't we?"

"That was a long time ago. Things change over time" Shark said and was about to turn and leave when Yuma yelled out something he would instantly regret.

"Then how would Rio react if she saw you now?"

Shark spun around and swiped Yuma's key from his neck. "Give that back! It's mine!" Yuma yelled as Sharks lackeys held him back.

"Don't you EVER mention her name!" Shark roared at Yuma and dropped the key on the floor.

"No Ryoga! Don't!" Lennox yelled and moved forward to stop Shark, but it was too late. Shark trod on the key with all his might, snapping it in two. Yuma fell to the floor defeated. He picked up one-half of the key and stared at it blankly.

"How could you?!" He yelled. Shark moved his foot to reveal the second half of the key.

"Next time, instead of the key being broken, you'll be!" He yelled and kicked the second part. The key part bounced across the ground before falling off the platform and down the unknown below.

"That's it!" Roared Yuma and lunged forward attempting to punch Shark, but was held back by Tetsuo. "Stop it! Let go of me!" He yelled.

"Ryoga! How could you be so low?" Lennox yelled. Now he was really angry. "That was the last thing Yuma had from his dad, remember? And now you've just destroyed it!" He lowered his head. "I can't believe we used to be friends with you."

"He has no right to talk about her!" Shark yelled and then looked at Lennox. "And neither do you! Stay out of my business!" Lennox gritted his teeth. He was now at a loss for what to do.

Shark then looked back at Yuma. "If you really want this deck back, then we can duel for it. Besides, I'll teach you a lesson for butting into my personal business" Shark said. "This Saturday, at the plaza outside the station, and you'd better show up or else." With that, Shark turned and left with his two lackeys.

"Ryoga, why are you like this?" Lennox said to himself.

* * *

Lennox was now walking home by himself, hands in his pockets and bag slung over his shoulder. He was thinking about the events that had just happened earlier. He, Tetsuo and Kotori had tried to cheer Yuma up over his broken key but to no avail. Eventually, Lennox had left them and the crossroads where they usually met up and had begun to make his own way home. As he walked, he passed by the card shop as usual. Lennox opened the door and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite customer. How've you been Lennox?" The shopkeeper greeted.

"Hey Ging," Lennox said meekly.

"Ok, what's wrong? You're never usually this down" Ging said concerned.

"It's just Shark" Lennox sighed. "He's been acting like a total idiot again" he explained.

"That boy has always been a special case," Ging said.

"Hm?" Lennox said, not really wanting to talk.

"He's angry, but instead of talking about it and letting it go it's built up. Now it's turned into hate, which is not a good thing" Ging explained with all the wisdom of an old man.

"So, what can I get you? The usual?" He asked.

"You know me too well" chuckled Lennox as Ging reached back and grabbed a booster pack. Lennox dug around in his pocket for chore money and placed it on the counter in exchange for the pack. He opened it and shuffled through them quickly before pocketing them.

"No luck?" Asked Ging.

"No luck" confirmed Lennox with a nod.

"Listen, Lennox. Xyz monsters are a hard thing to come by these days" Ging assured him. "But the deck you have is pretty good, and powerful to say the least. Believe me, I know my stuff."

"I know, Ging. I love my deck, truly. But having an Xyz would be nice though" Lennox shrugged. He then sighed. "Maybe I'm not ready for one yet." Ging folded his arms.

"I've never believed in all that spiritual stuff, but Xyz or not, you're a good duelist in my eyes kiddo."

"Thanks, Ging. I'll see you later" Lennox said with a wave before leaving the store.

As Lennox arrived home, it was starting to get dark. The last of the evening light was slowly fading away in a beautiful display of colours. Lennox admired the beautiful sunset before turning towards his house. It was a quaint little house, with a plain garden and two trees, yellow bricks, blue doors, a red roof, and a whole tonne of windows. As he jogged up the steps, he noticed a litterbot cleaning up the leaves.

"Woah! Woah! Hey! How many times have I told you guys!" He said as he ran in front of it. "Cleaning the leaves is my job! You guys get the pavement!"

"Cleaning, Cleaning" the machine persisted. Lennox sighed and turned the machine around, before pushing it on its merry way. He looked at the lawn and was partially grateful that it had done half of the job for him.

Lennox turned and opened the door, noticing the purple car parked in the driveway.

 _"Yep, she's home,"_ he thought as he entered the house. "I'm home!" He called out.

"Is that you Lennox?" A voice called from the kitchen. A woman soon emerged from the kitchen. She seemed fairly young with long blonde hair that trailed down to the small on her back with a cowslip at the top, wearing a white apron over a pink shirt and jeans that deliberately hugged her curves. "Hey! How've you been?" She asked.

"Fine Amy. Just a little tired" Lennox said. Amy was Lennox's aunt, although she hated being called aunt. The reason why was that it made her feel old, even though she's 26. Lennox caught a whiff of the lovely smell in the air. "Smells great, Whatcha cooking?" He asked.

"Chicken and green bean ramen" she answered. "Hey Lennox, could you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what?" Lennox answered, putting his bag away.

"Go check on my brother will ya? The Stupid Sun has been moaning all day about wanting his son to come back" Amy said.

"No prob" Lennox replied and dashed upstairs.

Lennox slowed down as he reached his dad's room and quietly opened the door. As usual, Lennox could see his dad lying in bed with a sickly look on his face, red and golden hair and beard flared out across his face, making it look like a lion's mane. This had earned him the nickname Stupid Sun from Amy. His sickly look vanished instantly and was replaced by a huge grin when he saw Lennox.

"Lennox! There's my boy! How was school? Did you get any wins today?" He asked.

"Yeah, three in a row" Lennox smiled.

"That's my boy!" H reached over from his bed and went to grab his D-Pad from his night stand. "Get ready, cause I'm about to give you a duel you'll never forge- Cough! Cough! Urgh…" He flopped back onto his bed.

"Dad, I've told you before not to push yourself," Lennox said concerned.

"Right, Right, spoilsport" he mumbled. "That doesn't mean I can't duel."

"Sure it doesn't" Lennox chuckled as he got his deck out. "Let's just do it the old-fashioned way."

"Now you're talking!" He grabbed a placemat and put it on his bed. Both then put their decks down and drew 5 cards.

"DUEL!" They cried.

* * *

"I attack Vorse Raider with Zubeneschamali," Lennox said as he shifted his card forward, gesturing he was attacking. His dad grumbled as he put the card in the graveyard and sighed.

"That's the third time you've beaten me. Maybe I should use my old deck." He picked up the top card of his deck and looked at it. Lucky Iron Axe. He began to grumble at his misfortune while Lennox just chuckled at this.

"It's your own fault. If you didn't use Hope For Escape you might have won" Lennox said. His father looked at the card.

"Yes, but it was your mother's favourite card and now it is my favourite," he said. "Though I haven't been able to use it too well." He then looked at Lennox. "Perhaps you could use it better" he pondered and held out the card to Lennox.

"You're giving it to me?" Lennox asked.

"Of course! It would be better off with you than me. Besides, all its doing her is just gathering dust" his father told him. Lennox smiled.

"Thanks, dad. I'll put it in my deck straight away" he said as he took the card.

"Lennox! Dinner!" Amy called from downstairs.

"I gotta go," Lennox said as he got up. "See ya dad," he said to his father before leaving to have dinner.

After bringing a bowl back up for his father, Lennox now found himself at the table with Amy.

"You'd think that after 5 years he'd learn," she said slightly annoyed. Lennox looked at her with his mouth stuffed full of ramen. "He tried to climb out the window _again_. I wish he'd try to rest but… that's my brother for you."

"That's the way dad's always been," Lennox said after finishing a mouthful.

"Yeah, yeah, he'd have broken something if I didn't get back in time." She nodded. "It's a good thing Mr Heartland let me off early." Ever since she had moved here from England, Amy had worked in Heartland Tower. At first, it was just maintaining litterbots, but now she had risen through the ranks and worked directly under the mayor, Mr Heartland himself. Amy complained that it was just a bunch of computer work, but it got good pay at least. Just then her phone buzzed and Amy checked it quickly. She groaned as soon as she saw the message. "As if I didn't have enough work already" she complained.

"What's wrong?" Lennox asked.

"Mr Heartland wants me to run a few errands for him on Saturday, meaning I can't go shopping" Amy explained. "Could you do it for me?" She asked.

"What?!" Cried Lennox. "But I'm supposed to be watching a duel then!"

"It's either that or we starve next week, your choice" Amy argued back.

"Fine" Lennox agreed, slightly annoyed. He had looked forward to supporting Yuma in his duel against Shark, but now that was impossible.

* * *

Lennox had finished his dinner and was now in his room. He opened up his wardrobe and got out the cards he had gotten from his booster pack and placed them on a ginormous pile of cards that stood there. Lennox never wasted any of his cards. He wasn't a hoarder, he just never had the heart to throw any of them away. That being said, he did trade some or donate them to others. He believed that someone had taken the time and effort to design the picture, draw the effect, and take time into planning every single card. All that effort was too good to go to waste and the cards designers should be appreciated for their hard work. He changed out of his uniform and hung it up for the next day and got into his comfortable PJ's. These were a short sleeve black shirt with a dark pink dragon head on the front and some white and red checkered baggy bottoms.

As he laid in his bed, he noticed the picture of the family on his nightstand. There was a picture of a younger Lennox, a healthier version of his father, and a beautiful woman standing next to him. She had light green hair that was as long as it could be, and soft blue eyes that that sparkled brilliantly. She had passed away from a mysterious illness when Lennox was 8. Now his father had the same thing, but neither grew better or worse. The doctors were at a loss for even identifying it. Lennox's father was able to be kept at home, however, and Amy came over from England in order to help support him.

"Goodnight mum" Lennox murmured as he turned off the lamp and drifted away to sleep.

* * *

The next day was awkward, to say the least. The classroom was quiet, there were no splashes in the pool and even the gymnasium didn't have much noise. It was so dull like someone had just sucked all the fun out of school. Everywhere Lennox went he could feel people's eyes gazing at him, and he knew people were murmuring things about him too.

"What is with everyone today?" He said quietly to himself as he sat down at an empty table at lunch. Some students eventually sat down at the same table but ignored him completely which irritated him. After finishing eating his lunch, Lennox took a stroll outside on the school grounds. He soon bumped into Kotori who was by herself. "Hey Kotori. Where's Yuma and Tetsuo?" Lennox asked. Kotori sighed sadly.

"Tetsuo is in the library trying to ignore everyone. And Yuma, he's on the roof by himself. He's still torn up about his key" she explained.

"What about everyone else? The entire school has been giving me funny looks since this morning" Lennox said.

"Me too. It turns out that the entire school found out about yesterday. Now it's become the major piece of gossip going around" Kotori said. Lennox just groaned.

"This whole thing is just a huge nightmare" he complained. Just then the bell rang.

"I'd better go. Give Yuma my best wishes for tomorrow!" Lennox called out to Kotori as he left for his next class. Kotori agreed and left herself. Throughout the rest of the day, Lennox tried to find Yuma, but to no avail. Apparently, from what he had heard, Yuma just wasn't himself. His usual kattobingu spirit had just disappeared. As he walked home he couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend.

" _I wish I could help him somehow. But how?"_ Lennox thought sadly before reaching his house.

* * *

Saturday. This was the big day. Lennox groaned as he walked through the mall. He had wished that Amy had to cancel her plans so he could watch the duel. This didn't happen unfortunately and he now found himself in the supermarket. Lennox now wore his casual clothes which were an open aquamarine short sleeved shirt that was cream coloured on the inside, over a long sleeve half orange half green, the green and orange being separated by a zigzag across the stomach and at the shoulders, with the orange being at his chest while the green covered his waist and sleeves. It went with a pair of dark blue trousers with yellow streaks along the edges, and black slip on shoes with green around the soles, sides and back. He had gone and got the usual shopping, milk, eggs, bread, tomatoes and other such groceries before feeling a bit peckish. After grabbing something to eat at a small cafe, Lennox had now grown bored of shopping. He decided to go and find a duelist to duel before resuming his last bit of shopping.

Lennox took an escalator up to one of the upper floors, hoping to find someone with a D-Pad. The only people up there however, were just more shoppers. Lennox took a flight of stairs to another level with no luck in finding a duelist. He continued higher and higher until he reached the top level. The top level seemed to empty, but Lennox pressed on, determined to find another duelist. As he walked he could see a glass door that seemed to lead onto a balcony. He walked over and went onto the balcony and gazed at the city glimmering in the sun.

"Ok. I think I might have gone overboard" Lennox admitted to himself when he saw how high he was. "Still, nice view though." He looked out to the city again. "I can see why mum and dad liked it here though. It has such a beautiful view. It really raises your spirits up!" Lennox then got out D-Pad and looked at it thoughtfully. "Mum was a great duelist, she could use Xyz monsters easily…but can I?" He looked at the people walking below. "I want to be as good as her one day…but am I good enough now?" Lennox took in a deep breath. "No point in wondering over that now, I'll find out soon enough. For now, I have a shopping list to complete." Lennox grabbed his shopping and left the balcony.

As he walked back towards the stairs, Lennox felt himself step in something soft. A shiver went through him. "Please don't be dog crap" he begged. Slowly lifting his shoe, Lennox inspected the bottom. Instead of finding a brown streak like he expected, there was a strange blob of red goo attached to his shoe. "What the… Eww gross" Lennox cringed at the strange substance. He began to scrape his shoe on the ground, attempting to get it off. No good. Lennox the reached into his shopping bag and pulled out a receipt. There was no way in hell he was touching that stuff…whatever it was. Using the receipt like a tissue, Lennox pulled the strange blob off his foot. Surprisingly, the entire thing came off. It felt weird, like jelly almost, however it wasn't sticky. Lennox was about to walk over to a bin and throw it away when he saw the trail of the stuff.

Curious, Lennox quickly threw the receipt in the bin before following the trail. It looked like blood, but it couldn't be? Blood was runnier than this stuff and a lighter shade or red. Lennox followed the trail until he found a large puddle of the stuff. "That is utterly disgusting," Lennox said disapprovingly. Kneeling down, Lennox inspected the puddle closely. "What is this stuff?" He wondered when the puddle suddenly rippled. "Huh?" The puddle then made a noise and began to move. "Woah!" Lennox cried as he jumped back. The puddle seemed to suddenly come to life as the splotches around the puddle began moving towards it, merging with it to form something. Lennox, who was on the floor, began to slowly shift backwards, trying move away.

The puddle then rose and began to mould itself into a humanoid shape. First, the torso was formed, which itself was quite skinny. Two arms then shot out the torso and its hands were moulded, each having three fingers. By this time the legs had already been formed. They were skinny and appeared to have no toes. Lastly, the head rose out the body, it being completely spherical and having a single, yellow glowing eye. The creature began to make a sick gurgling sound before stopping and standing completely still in silence.

The creature the began to glance at its surroundings intrigued, like a child seeing something for the first time. Its eyes then locked onto Lennox. Lennox's heart froze as the creature stared at him. He hadn't a clue at what to do in this situation. The creature began to cough violently before vomiting out a puddle of the substance it was made from. "Eww! That's disgusting!" Lennox cringed. The creature the stopped coughing and stood up straight again.

"D…" it tried to say.

"Huh?" Lennox said confused. It seemed it was trying to talk to him.

"D…Duel" it managed to say at last. Its voice was strange like it was constantly speaking underwater.

"Duel?" Lennox echoed in confusion.

"Duel" it repeated. It then raised one of its skinny arms and pointed to Lennox's D-Pad.

"Erm…yeah, I duel," Lennox said, still confused.

"Duel," it said again, only this time it raised its left arm and the goo stretched out to form a duel disk. A deck of 40 cards slid out of its body and into a deck holder.

"Duel" it persisted.

"What do I do?" Lennox asked himself. "This thing suddenly shows up and challenges me. Should I accept?"

"Duel."

"I know, you already said that," Lennox said slightly annoyed.

"Duel."

"Alright! I'll duel you if you shut up already!" Lennox yelled at it.

"Duel." A tic mark appeared on Lennox's head as he rose from the ground with his D-Pad in hand.

"Ok, now you're really starting to piss me off! It's a good thing I was looking for a duel anyway!" Lennox yelled as he tossed his D-Pad into the air. It began to transform, slowly shaping into a standard yellow duel disk. "Duel disk, set!" The D-Pad attached itself to Lennox's left wrist and the card zones folded out. "D-Gazer, set!" Lennox got out his arrowhead D-Gazer and attached it to his left eye. The goo's eye glowed, showing it didn't need a D-Gazer.

 **AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED**

The world soon transformed itself into augmented reality as several bits of code flew past Lennox and his opponent. There were also information screens around them to tell them information about duels and if any were happening nearby.

 **DUEL!**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Unknown: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

Lennox looked at the screenshot of his opponent to see their name listed as unknown.

" _They don't have a name? I'd better be wary of this thing. The system has no information on it at all"_ Lennox thought. "I'll take the first turn! Draw!" He announced and then looked at his hand. _"I should probably test the water with this thing since I have no idea what it's capable of."_

 **TURN: 1**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I'll summon Satellarknight Alsahm in attack mode!" Lennox's first monster was a small humanoid that wore a gold and white armour. It had a gold ring that circled around its body with a small metal sphere attached to it, as well as having two gold mechanical wings. In its hands was a small bow with an arrow already loaded.

 **Satellarknight Alsahm: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1400 ATK/1800 DEF**

"Now I use Alsahm's effect!" Declared Lennox. "So you now take 1000 points of damage!" Alsahm let lose the arrow from its tiny bow which hit the goo and went right through it and did not phase it at all.

 **Unknown: 4000 – 1000 = 3000**

"It didn't even flinch?" Lennox wondered. "This thing is weird." He looked down at his hand. "I'll set one card face down and end my turn! Your move!" Lennox yelled as the facedown augmented onto the field.

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

"Turn. Draw." 'Unknown' said as it drew. It's single eye then looked at the cards in its hand in a creepy manner.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Unknown: 3000**

 **Hand: 6**

"Summon **Goo Shadow**." A purple puddle of goo formed in front of 'Unknown' and rose into a flat figure with a bending tail connecting to an 'X' for a foot. It had long flat fingers and was wearing a long blood red scarf with thin whipping ends, whilst there were two holes on its face that acted as eyes, as well as having an innocent crescent shaped smile, with what looked like two little devil horns on its head.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

"Goo?" Lennox wondered. He had never heard of an archetype like that before. Ironically, however, it was fitting.

"Activate spell card, **Blood Lust**. Monster shall now gain 800 attack points." Goo Shadow began to laugh creepily as a red aura surrounded it.

 **Goo Shadow ATK: 1400 + 800 = 2200**

"Damn! Now Its attacks is higher!" Lennox gasped.

"Attack, Alsahm." Goo Shadow laughed even more as it slid over to Alsahm and pulled back its arms in preparation.

"Activate trap! **Miracle Card**!" Lennox countered. The trap then flipped over and glowed, signalling its activation. "When my opponent declares an attack, I can draw one card and apply a different effect depending on the card I draw!" Lennox placed his fingers on top of his deck. "Here we go," he said as he took in a deep breath. "Draw!" Lennox then looked at the card and smiled. "I drew Constellar Algiedi! So now due to Miracle Card's effect, my monsters cannon be destroyed in battle!" Alsahm glowed gold as it was struck by Goo Shadow and Lennox grunted at the force of the attack.

 **Lennox: 4000 – 800 = 3200**

"Blood Lust allows monster to attack twice. Attack, Alsahm." Goo Shadow let out another laugh as it punched Alsahm again.

 **Lennox: 3200 – 800 = 2400**

"Activate quick-play spell, **Pain Split**. Shall gain life equal to half damage dealt." A gold aura covered 'Unknown' as its life increased.

 **Unknown: 3000 + 800 = 3800**

"Set two cards. End turn" it finished.

 **Goo Shadow ATK: 1400 (Back to normal)**

 **Unknown: 3800**

 **Hand: 1**

" _So this thing does know how to duel,"_ Lennox thought. "Alright! Kid gloves are coming off! Time to get serious! Draw!"

 **TURN: 3**

 **Lennox: 2400**

 **Hand: 6**

Lennox looked at the card he drew and his eyes widened.

" _This is…mum's card, Hope For Escape."_ He then looked at his deck. _"Is my deck trying to tell me something?"_ Lennox thought. He then shook his head. "Focus! You've got a duel to win!" He told himself and picked out another card from his hand. "I'll play Satellarknight Skybridge! So by returning Alsahm to my deck, I can summon out another Satellarknight from my deck!" Alsahm glowed gold before returning to Lennox's deck. A card then slipped out which Lennox revealed. "Say hello to Satellarknight Rigel!" The new Satellarknight that took Alsahm's place wore a similar gold and white armour. The difference was that this monster seemed to be much older than Alsahm. It also had the same gold ring and sphere that went around its body. Other features included and extension on the armour on its left arm, and a blue sword that it held in its right hand.

 **Satellarknight Rigel: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1900 ATK/700 DEF**

"And now for Rigel's effect! So when he's summoned he gains 500 attack!" Rigel's armour then glowed blue with energy as it's attack power rose.

 **Rigel ATK: 1900 + 500 = 2400**

"Now I'll normal summon Constellar Algiedi!" Stars began to cluster together to form this new monster. This monster appeared to be a feminine spellcaster in a white armour and wore a small cape that had the image of stars on it. It also held a small white staff in its hand with two blue gems on it.

 **Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/1600 ATK/1400 DEF**

"Now for Algiedi's effect! So now I can summon another Constellar monster to my field! I summon Constellar Acubens!" Algiedi's staff glowed blue as it called out its comrade. This new monster appeared to be some sort of bulky white machine with a humanoid appearance. Instead of hands, however, this monster had a pair of giant, yellow, scissor-like pincers in their place.

 **Constellar Acubens: Level 4/LIGHT/Machine/800 ATK/2000 DEF**

"Now for his effect! So all my Constellar monsters now gain 500 attack!" Both monsters glowed gold as their power rose.

 **Algiedi ATK: 1600 + 500 = 2100**

 **Acubans ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300**

"I'll finish this in one turn," Lennox said to himself. "Battle! Rigel! Attack Goo Shadow!" Rigel charged at the goo monster, raising its sword ready to strike it down.

"Activate trap, Defence Draw" 'Unknown' countered.

"Damn! A trap!" Lennox growled.

"Battle damage reduced to zero, also draw a card" 'Unknown' explained as Rigel's sword came crashing down on Goo Shadow, shattering it into thousands of gold particles. 'Unknown' then drew a card slowly from its deck. "Now activate Goo Shadow effect. When destroyed, summon Goo Shadow from deck with 0 attack and defence." Another Goo Shadow rose from the ground with its stats dropping to zero.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/0 ATK (Originally 1400)/0 DEF (Originally 1200)**

"It doesn't matter how many you summon! I'll just take them all out!" Lennox yelled. Algiedi and Acubens moved forward slightly.

"Activate trap, **Fear Instinct** " 'Unknown' retaliated. "When monster summoned, battle phase ends." The two red eyes on the card glowed which caused the two Constellar monsters to back off. Lennox grunted as his monsters moved back.

" _Ok, I severely underestimated this thing. It's much better than I originally thought."_ Lennox then looked at his hand. _"These'll do,"_ he thought as he picked out two cards from his hand. "I set two cards and end my turn" Lennox declared as the facedowns appeared. "At this moment, Rigel's effect activates. So now he goes to the graveyard." Rigel then disappeared in a burst of gold particles.

 **Lennox: 2400**

 **Hand: 1**

" _I have nothing in my hand that can help me at the moment, but my facedown is Hope For Escape. With that, I can draw some extra cards to help me out. my second facedown is Dimensional Prison. If it tries to attack me then I'll banish its monster. Hopefully, that will give me a clear field for a direct attack."  
_

"Turn. Draw" 'Unknown' said as it began its turn again.

 **TURN: 4**

 **Unknown: 3800**

 **Hand: 3**

"Activate quick-play spell, Mystical Space Typhoon." The card augmented into life, much to Lennox's horror.

"Shit" Lennox hissed quietly as 'Unknown' raised its right arm.

"Destroy facedown on right," it said. The tornado blew across the field, shattering Lennox's set card.

 _"Of course, it had to destroy Dimensional Prison,"_ Lennox thought bitterly as the tornado dispersed. Then he felt something. It was if the world had stopped moving for a split second. Lennox didn't know what it was, but a feeling rushed through his body, making his fingers buzz and sending a shiver down his spine.

Something terrible had happened.

"What was…" Lennox thought aloud, but soon stopped when he noticed something strange going on with his opponent. The goo was now hunched over and shaking violently.

"Destroy…Numbers…collect…destroy….Numbers…collect" it repeated.

"What…? Numbers?" Lennox breathed confused.

"Must…destroy" the slime spoke.

"This doesn't feel good" Lennox said to himself. Something was defiantly wrong.

"Summon Goo Shadow." An identical copy of Goo Shadow soon rose next to its twin.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

"Another one?" Lennox thought aloud. _"What the hell is this thing's strategy?"_

"Overlay, two level 4 Goo Shadow's."

Lennox gasped as the goo raised its hand and both monsters turned into streams of purple energy.

"No way in hell! This thing can Xyz summon?!" Lennox cried in disbelief.

"Construct Overlay Network with two monsters" 'Unknown' said as a red portal tore open at its feet and the monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Appear! **DB – Hunter**!" The monster that rose out of the portal appeared to be made from the same goo that the Goo Shadows were made from, except it was a blood red colour instead of purple. This goo was a humanoid shape just like its predecessors except it had a bulkier figure. It had a pair of yellow eyes that shone brightly and carried a huge sword made of goo. It wore a long red scarf made of goo that covered its mouth and trailed in the wind. It towered above the other monsters, dominating the field with its presence.

 **DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF/ Overlay Units: 2**

"What is this monster?" Lennox wondered as it let out a creepy laugh.

"Now this seems to have gotten more interesting," said a figure watching from behind a corner.

"Destroy…everything" The slime continued to rant as it's monster laughed evilly. Lennox gazed up in fear at the monsters intimidating appearance.

"This…this is pure evil."

 _Cards made by other authors_

OPFan37

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

 _Effect: If you control a level 4 monster, you can special summon this card from your hand. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon one 'Goo Shadow' from your deck with its ATK and DEF reduced to 0._

 **Blood Lust**

 _Spell_

 _Effect: target one monster you control; it gains 800 ATK and can attack twice. These changes last until the end phase._

 **Miracle Card**

 _Trap_

 _Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack; draw one card and reveal it, then apply one of the following effects depending on the type of card drawn:_

 _Monster Card: Monsters you control cannot be destroyed in battle until the end phase._

 _Spell Card: Double the battle damage you receive from this attack._

 _Trap Card: Negate the attack and end the battle phase._

 **Fear Instinct**

 _Trap: When a monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard; end the battle phase._

 _Author made cards_

 **Pain Split**

 _Quick-Play Spell_

 _Effect: Activate only at the end of your battle phase; gain lifepoints equal to half the total amount of damage you dealt to your opponent._

 **DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF**

 _2 level 4 monsters_

 _Effect: UNKNOWN_

* * *

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't been that active in a while, but my exams have started and I've had to redo some of my past exams. Basically, in a nutshell, my life's been hell and I do apologise for this. With that now being said, I can now introduce you to my new project! Originally, this story was written as a test chapter by OPFan37. After asking him, he agreed to let me continue this story for him. If you have read OPFan37's version, you will notice that some of the events that happen are different. I will be changing some things in the story so I can mix in some of my ideas into it.**

 **For those of you who read my Arc-V story: Dark Days of Heartland, I am still going to continue it, and am determined to finish it. I just needed a long break from in and to sort out some real-life stuff. But by having a long break I have managed to plan out most of the story and I thought I would finish watching Arc-V first. The next chapter will be uploaded relatively soon however.**

 **Now that I've said what I want, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one. If you did like this chapter then leave a review why and tell me what you would like to see for this fic.**

 **Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Rising Dawn

Lennox could feel that he was sweating bullets at the sight of this new monster. The giant goo swordsman gave off a very evil aura that was extremely unsettling. It didn't help with the fact that his opponent had begun to have a complete freakout.

 **Current Status of Duel**

 **Lennox: 2400**

 **Hand: 1**

 **VS**

 **Unknown: 3800**

 **Hand: 1**

* * *

 **Lennox Field:**

 **Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/2100 ATK (Originally 1600)/1400 DEF**

 **Constellar Acubens: Level 4/LIGHT/Machine/1300 ATK (Originally 800)/2000 DEF**

 **One set spell or trap**

* * *

' **Unknown' Field:**

 **DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF/ Overlay Units: 2**

 **No active or set spell or traps**

"Numbers…collect" 'Unknown' spoke.

"What does it mean by Numbers?" Lennox wondered. Ever since that strange feeling shot through his body, the slime had seemed to have had a mental breakdown. Now it was actually showing emotion unlike before, which made it all the more unnerving.

"Attack Acubens!" The giant slime monster raised its sword high in the air and gave an evil laugh before it came crashing down on Acubens. Acubens only had time to look up in horror before the sword crushed him. Lennox cursed silently as he was hit by the damage.

 **Lennox: 2400 – 1000 = 1400**

" _Damn it! I can't take another hit like that!"_ He thought.

"DB – Hunter's effect activates!" 'Unknown's' voice said, snapping Lennox out of his thoughts.

"Use one overlay unit! Monster makes an additional attack!"

"What?!" Cried Lennox as DB – Hunter absorbed one of its overlay units into its sword, laughing in the process.

 **DB – Hunter Overlay Unit: 1**

" _Great! This thing can attack me again!"_ Lennox yelled frustrated in his own mind.

He then realised something terrible.

" _That thing still has one overlay unit left…"_ He thought grimly. His face then turned into a look of horror. _"If it manages to destroy Algiedi…then I'm done for!"_ He looked at the card in his hand for a desperate solution, as losing against this thing while it was in this sort of state was probably not the best idea. Unfortunately, it was useless at this point in time.

" _Damn! I can't do anything to defend myself! This card is useless and the only thing I have on my field is my…"_ Lennox's thoughts trailed off as he realised what he could do.

"Attack Algiedi!" 'Unknown' ordered. DB – Hunter once again raised its huge sword. Algiedi looked up and began to fear for her life.

" _Wait! I never took that card out! If I can get it then I might still have a chance!"_ Lennox thought, remembering an old card that he had gotten from Yuma and had forgotten to remove it from his deck when rebuilding it. The sword then came down upon Algiedi who braced herself. "All or nothing now! I play Hope For Escape!" Lennox bellowed. The sword froze in mid-air, just inches away from Algiedi's face. Algiedi opened one eye to see that she was unharmed and let out a huge sigh of relief. 'Unknown tilted its head in confusion.

"Explain" it ordered.

"Simple" Lennox started. "I pay 1000 points and then draw cards equal to the difference between us for every 1000 points."

Lennox grunted as lighting crackled across his body.

 **Lennox: 1400 – 1000 = 400**

"Now since the difference is just over 3000 points, I draw three cards" Lennox explained as he placed his hand on top of his deck. If the heart of the cards was real, now would be the time for it to show.

"DRAW!" He screamed, eyes closed, and begging for any chance to turn this around. Algiedi gazed at her master with a worried look on her face that was concealed by her mask. Lennox opened his eyes and looked at the new cards.

"That does not matter. Attack Algiedi!" 'Unknown' ordered once again. DB – Hunter then brought its sword down on Algiedi with the intent to kill.

"I activate the effect of **Eclipse Shield** in my hand! Now by sending it to the grave, your monster is switched to defence mode!"

 **Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF**

Just before DB – Hunter could touch Algiedi, a blue shield that looked eerily similar to Millennium Shield appeared. The shield had the image of a crescent moon and knocked back the sword. The barrier then let off a blinding light which forced DB – Hunter to kneel down into a defensive stance. 'Unknown' blinked once in surprise before resuming.

"Turn end," it said.

 **Unknown: 3800**

 **Hand: 1**

 _"Good. With this, I can last a bit longer"_ Lennox though as he went to begin his turn.

"This kid ain't half bad. Interesting" said the same figure from behind the corner.

"My turn! Draw!" Announced Lennox.

 **TURN: 5**

 **Lennox: 400**

 **Hand: 4**

Lennox scanned his hand and saw two cards in particular. "Now my comeback begins!" He declared. "I summon Constellar Kaus!" Lennox's signature white armoured centaur warrior appeared. He gave a respectful nod at Algiedi which was returned before turning towards his new opponent.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

"I'll then equip him with Fairy Meteor Crush! Now Kaus inflicts piercing damage! Kaus attack!" Kaus wasted no time in putting its bow to good use. The blue light began to cluster together as the string was pulled back. The arrow was then formed and quickly released, piercing straight through DB – Hunter who let out a pained cry, and into 'Unknown'.

 **Unknown: 3800 – 300 = 3500**

"Now Algiedi! Follow up with a direct attack!" Algiedi charged forward and slammed its staff into 'Unknown', disfiguring its shape a bit. 'Unknown' quickly recovered and reformed back into its humanoid shape.

 **Unknown: 3500 – 2100 = 1400**

"Just…A little…more" Lennox panted. He had to admit, this duel was really pushing him towards the edge. He had never fought so hard before. In fact, why was he? This was supposed to be a friendly duel (Even though he was facing off against some slime monster). So why did he feel the need to win at all costs. "I end my turn" he declared. _"I just need one more turn. Just one more, and then it will all be over"_ he thought hopefully.

"Activate DB – Hunter's effect! Revive during end phase!" 'Unknown' announced.

"You're kidding?!" Exclaimed Lennox. 'Unknown' was not however as the monster in question arose out of the graveyard portal. As it did, it gave a smug, troll face grin towards Lennox who just stared in disbelief. Lennox fell to his knees in defeat. "I don't believe it," he said in a hopeless voice. His two monsters looked back in worry. "I can't beat it. I've tried everything I can. It's just too good." Lennox looked at the ground as his hands clenched into fists and his cards scattered across the ground. He began to sob softly. "I'm sorry mum. I can't do it. No matter how hard I try...I can't keep up with you. I'm useless without your help."

 **Lennox: 400**

 **Hand: 2**

"Turn. Draw" 'Unknown began, not showing a single bit of sympathy for its opponent.

 **TURN: 6**

 **Unknown: 1400**

 **Hand: 2**

"Activate Overlay Regen. Card becomes overlay unit for monster." The card in question augmented into life, immediately turning into a purple overlay unit that began to orbit around DB – Hunter.

 **DB – Hunter Overlay Units: 1**

Lennox was still on his knees on the floor, not even caring about his opponent's plays. "Attack Kaus!" 'Unknown ordered its monster. The giant sword was lifted up high in the air. DB – Hunter laughed as the sword was brought down on Kaus.

"What does it matter" Lennox muttered to himself. "I could defend myself with Eclipse Shield, but there's no point. That thing would just counter me again."

"No! you can't give up!"

Lennox looked up towards the source of the voice to see no one there. Something then snapped inside him. The sword slammed into Kaus, sending out a large shockwave as the monster perished. "I activate Eclipse Shield's other effect!" Cried out, Lennox. "By banishing it, I take zero damage this turn!" Before the shockwave could hit him, Eclipse Shield materialised in front of Lennox and this time it had a picture of a sun on it. The shield gave off another ray of blinding light as it protected its master.

"DB – Hunter's effect activates! Use one overlay unit! Monster makes additional attack!" DB – Hunter absorbed its overlay unit into the sword as it prepared to strike again.

 **DB – Hunter Overlay Unit: 0**

"Due to Eclipse Shield's effect, I take no damage!" Lennox protested.

"But your monster is still destroyed" 'Unknown' said. The sword came down on Algiedi who gave a fearful look before being destroyed. Eclipse shield once again formed around Lennox, shielding him from any damage. "Turn end" finished 'Unknown'.

 **Unknown: 1400**

 **Hand: 1**

Lennox placed his hand on top of his deck. Could feel it, a slimmer of hope. After hearing that voice, he felt different. He now felt there was still a chance. The voice lifted his spirits for some reason.

"My turn! Draw!"

 **Turn: 7**

 **Lennox: 400**

 **Hand: 3**

This feeling of hope soon turned to despair once Lennox saw the card he drew. _"Consterllar Sombre? It really is over"_ he thought defeated. "I can't win, Ging was wrong. I never stood a chance. Mum, I'm sorry for being so useless" Lennox said as he fell to his knees and began to cry. He could help it. It was all the feelings of regret and sorrow that had been bottled up over time. Lennox desperately missed his mum and was now crying for her. "Mum…I…miss you. Please…help me" he said in between sobs.

"Now, is this what I taught you? I thought you had learned better from me" a voice said. Lennox looked up. He wasn't in the mall anymore. His duel disk and D-Gazer were gone too. Instead, he was on his knees in a white void.

"I remember when you used to never give up when you were little, how I miss those times" the voice continued. Lennox turned around to see a woman standing above him. She had light green hair that was as long as it could be, and soft blue eyes that sparkled brilliantly. She wore the same white top which went down past her waist she always wore. Around her waist was a black belt that made it look like the top was separated into a T-shirt and white skirt. Peeking out from underneath her top were her signature black Indian shorts.

"M-Mum?" Lennox gasped.

"Hello sweetheart," she said with a smile. Lennox leapt up and wrapped his hands around her.

"Mum! I missed you so much! How? What?" Lennox cried, unable to speak out of sheer joy.

"I missed you too sweetheart, but I can't stay long," she said.

"Wha-?" Lennox began but was soon cut off as his mum and ended the hug and held out her hand. Floating just above her palm was a glowing white card.

"Take this Lennox," she said. "He will protect you, but you must also protect him too."

"He will…protect me?" Lennox said confused. "Wait, who is 'he'?"

His mother let out a small chuckled.

"You will soon see. Now hurry!" Lennox grabbed the card as soon was blinded by a bright white light. "Good luck, my son," his mother said as he faded away.

"Wait! Mum!" Lennox called out and reached for her but to no avail.

Lennox's eyes snapped open and he soon saw that he was on the ground and back at the duel.

"What the heck?" He said confused before a light erupted from his extra deck. Lennox opened his extra deck and felt something in there. He took it out and saw that it was a card. "This is…" he began and soon nodded. "Thanks, mum, I now know what to do."

"Hurry…make move…or…termination" 'Unknown said impatiently. Lennox smiled.

"Don't worry, I got ya" he said. The slime tilted its head in confusion. "I summon Constellar Sombre!" Stars began to cluster together as the new monster was summoned. It was a feminine monster that wore a white and gold armour with a jewel in the centre of its chest. Attached to its back was a pair of wings that had the image of stars on it and yellow lines that went across them. Sombre gave a small giggle as it descended next to Lennox.

 **Constellar Sombre: Level 4/LIGHT/Fairy/1550 ATK/1600 DEF**

"I activate her effect! Now by banishing a Constellar from my graveyard, I get to add another one to my hand!" Explained Lennox as the graveyard portal opened up. "I banish Acubens to add back Kaus!" Acubens appeared in the portal briefly before vanishing into gold particles. A gold light, which was Kaus, shot out the portal and into Lennox's hand. "Now Sombre's effect lets me normal summon again! So I summon back Kaus!" The white armoured centaur warrior reappeared on the battlefield, its bow ready to pierce the heart of Lennox's enemy.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

"Now for Kaus' effect! I can increase or decrease the level of a Constellar by one!" Kaus raised its bow and aimed up at the roof. "I'll increase Kaus' level by one!" Kaus let loose an arrow, which sailed up in the air before turning into gold streams of light. The light rained down on Kaus and increased his level.

 **Kaus Level: 4 – 5**

"And guess what?" Lennox said, now full of confidence. "I can use this effect twice per turn! So I'll use the second one on Sombre!" Kaus fired up another arrow which rained gold light on Sombre this time.

 **Sombre Level: 4 – 5**

Lennox looked at the card he held in his hand. "I'm ready mum! I overlay my level 5 Constellar Sombre and Kaus!" Lennox yelled. Both monsters turned yellow before shooting up in the air as streams of yellow energy. A golden galactic portal opened up at Lennox's feet. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" The two monsters swirled into the portal and a burst of golden light shortly followed.

"Xyz summon! Descend! Rank 5! **Number 89: Dawn Sword**!"

Then number 89 appeared and flashed dark pink. Out of the portal then emerged a giant sword. It had a long silver blade that grew wider as it went down, then forming a diamond at the tip. The handle and hand guard were sapphire blue in colour and had emerald diamond gems on the ends of them. Extending out of each side of the handguard were long red sashes with a yellow star on each side of them, and five tussles on each end. Completing it was the number 89 in dark pink on the right handguard.

 **Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Numbers!" 'Unknown' exclaimed. Lennox stared at the monster in confusion.

"I don't understand. That's not what it looks like on the card" he said. The sword then began to do something which shocked everybody. It began to transform and change shape. The blade of the sword then split in two and turned 90 degrees so that the sharp part faced forward and the split part faced back, making it look like the sword now had legs. The two parts of the handguard now extended out, increasing the size of the gems whilst the handle opened up and split down into a 'V' shape at the back. This revealed a masked head with emerald eyes. The split blade now looked like actual legs while the handguard now resembled shoulders before finally settling into place. Finally, the tussles on the ends of each sash clenched into fists, showing that they were arms.

"Woah" Lennox gasped at the monster. It was even more impressive to see it in real life. The monster then began to do something strange. It began to stretch its arms and legs, all while letting out a satisfying moan.

"Ah! Much better" Dawn Sword spoke with a male voice. "It feels so good to finally be free of that seal." Dawn Sword then looked up in the air and out at the glass roof. "I sense Utopia is nearby, and someone else too. Heh, it's just like him to find trouble before I do." While this was happening, Lennox stared at Dawn Sword with disbelief.

" _Did…my monster just talk?"_ He thought to himself. He then shook his head. _"Bah! Forget it! I've got a duel to win!"_ Lennox then raised his arm. "I activate Dawn Swords effect!" He yelled.

" _Finally! some action!"_ Dawn Sword thought as he prepared to absorb one of the yellow overlay units orbiting him.

"I use one overlay unit to negate the effects of your DB – Hunter!" Lennox explained. Dawn Sword's legs combined back into a sword and it slashed apart one overlay unit.

 **Dawn Sword Overlay Units: 1**

The light from the overlay unit combined with the sword, and it glowed a bright yellow. "Oh! And there's one other thing I forgot to mention, your monster also loses 1000 attack! Purge Slash!" Dawn Sword slashed the air which sent a yellow energy wave flying towards DB – Hunter. The monster cried out in pain as the colour seemed to drain away from its body.

 **DB – Hunter ATK: 2300 – 1000 = 1300**

If 'Unknown' could show facial expressions, then its face would have been a look of shock. It had lost to of all things, a puny human. It had failed its mission and now had to pay the price.

"Now Dawn Sword! Attack DB – Hunter! Rising Dawn!" Dawn Sword flipped his body upside down as the sword began to glow. A light like the rising sun emanated from Dawn Sword's blade before he slashed at the goo monster, creating a clean slice straight down its body.

"Nice try, but next time bring someone tougher!" Dawn Sword boasted. DB – Hunter then disappeared in an almighty explosion of blinding light. The resulting force and light from the explosion hit 'Unknown' and it dissolved into nothingness.

' **Unknown': 1400 – 1400 = 0**

' **Unknown': LOSE**

Lennox panted heavily as a screenshot with his face and the word 'WIN' appeared. He gave one look at Dawn Sword, who looked back at him before fading away.

"Hm?" Lennox saw that there was something on the ground where the slime once was. He walked over to see that DB – Hunter was lying on the floor, the slime nowhere to be seen. Lennox reached down and went to pick up DB – Hunter before it turned into a red goo and oozed away quickly.

"Woah!" Lennox cried as he recoiled from the sudden movement of the slime.

"This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," he said to himself. He then looked at Number 89: Dawn Sword. "I wonder what it wanted with this? It kept mentioning Numbers in the duel."

"Duel Blood."

"Ah!" Lennox cried surprised at the voice, and jumped around, ready for a fight. His eyes met with a man that Lennox guessed to be 18 or older, with white hair that flared out at the sides and spiked down at the ends, back, and across the forehead. He had black strands of hair that swiped across the sides and atop his head in the shape of lightning bolts. He had piercing red eyes that gazed into one's own soul, and wore a jet-black twin tailed jacket with a pink heart badge on his left chest, a blue shirt underneath with a green tie, black slacks and pointed black shoes that were as dark as the night.

"You scared me" breathed Lennox. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough" he answered simply. His hardened gaze soon turned into a friendly smile. "I didn't think you'd have what it takes to defeat the Duel Blood."

"Duel Blood?" Lennox echoed. "Is that what that thing was called?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "My name is Shino Cubaki, I've been studying the Duel Blood as well as the Number cards."

"You know about these?" Lennox asked, holding up Dawn Sword.

"Yes. Initially, begin blank before contact, Numbers take the form of whatever their host desires. Depending on the desire, Numbers can be used for good and evil" Shino explained. Lennox stared at Dawn Sword with curiosity. "Another thing to note is that the Numbers cannot change after being formed" Shino added.

"Desires huh? I wonder what my desire is then?" Lennox said to himself.

"That's the thing" Shino suddenly answered. Lennox looked up at him confused.

"Numbers appear to feed off negative human emotions. You, however, seem unaffected."

"Wait, why are you telling me all this? And unaffected by what exactly?" Lennox asked. Shino sighed.

"I just told you, Numbers take the form of what their host desires the most and feed off negative human emotions. Whatever you were desiring in the duel fed off your emotions and became the Number you wield now."

"Ok? So why are you telling me all this?" Lennox asked again. Shino sighed once again.

"Because…I need your help" he said hesitating.

"You need my help?" Lennox asked. Shino now let out a small groan.

"Geez, you ask a lot of questions. But yes, I need your help." He turned around and looked at his hand. "You seem like a very capable duelist, so I want you to collect the Numbers for me, and stop them from falling into the wrong hands." He turned back to Lennox. "Your Number doesn't seem to be possessing you, so you must be unaffected by the negative influence. This will allow you to collect Numbers without worry."

"Ok? But why can't you collect them?" Lennox asked.

"I'm not a strong enough duelist. Besides, the Numbers would just feed off my emotions as I have nothing protecting me from their influence" Shino answered.

"Alright then. So, what do I gotta do?" Lennox asked.

"It's simple" Shino began. "Just defeat a Number holder and retrieve their Numbers." Lennox looked back at Dawn Sword. "Collect as many as possible, and defeat the Duel Blood. That is all I can tell you thus far."

"Wait, just who exactly are you?" Lennox said while looking up, but Shino was nowhere to be seen. "Great" he groaned. "This is so cliché."

* * *

As the sun was setting in a beautiful display of crimson and orange, Lennox slowly walked home through a park with his shopping. As he walked, his mind began to wonder.

"Numbers. Duel Blood. What does this all mean?" Lennox said to himself. Shino's earlier words played on his mind. "Defeat a Number holder and take the Number. Seems easy enough" Lennox continued. He soon reached a railing which gave him a view of the city in the sunset. He set down his shopping and leant on the railing, thinking about the day's events. He then fished through his pocket to pull out Number 89: Dawn Sword. "Mum…you gave me this card, didn't you? Do you want me to collect the Numbers?" He looked at the orange sun and took in a deep breath. "Ok then! It's settled. I'll collect the Numbers and fight the Duel Blood!" He said confidently, raising his fist. Lennox then turned to leave, not noticing a certain black and red spiky haired duelist walking on a lower pathway below.

"Oh hey! It's Lennox!" Yuma said as he noticed Lennox leaving on the upper pathway.

"Who is this 'Lennox' you speak of? Is he another friend? One that can help me regain my memories?" A strange blue being asked the boy. The being had green markings and blue gems across his body, blue hair that curled up into a Mohawk with pointed ears that were pierced with silver dangling earrings, and heterochromatic eyes with the left being luminous gold and the right being clear white.

"Grr! I told you to shut up and go away already!" Yuma yelled at the strange blue being. The being, however, ignored Yuma and stared at where Lennox had just been moments ago. Yuma was a bit surprised. Throughout the whole day when talking to this stranger, they had always replied to Yuma's angry outbursts and threats with smartassed replies and comments. Now they seemed to be quiet which as a little bit concerning, not that Yuma cared anyway.

"Hey…Astral? You ok?" Yuma finally said.

"Hmm?" 'Astral' said and turned towards Yuma. "Yes, your friend is just interesting. I can sense something in him. Perhaps a Number?"

"Lennox? A Number?" Yuma asked and looked up to where Astral had been staring. "Well, in that case, let's go duel him!" Yuma exclaimed and took off running.

"Wait" Astral began, but it was too late. Yuma had already sped down the pathway. Astral sighed. "Observation Number 3: Brash and impatient humans are the most difficult to reason with."

 _Cards made by other authors_

OPFan37

 **Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

 _2 level 5 monsters_

 _Effect: Once per turn you can detach one overlay unit from this card and target one monster your opponent controls; while you control this face-up card, its effects are negated and it loses 1000 attack points.  
_

 _Author made cards_

 **DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF**

 _2 level 4 monsters_

 _Effect: After this card destroyed a monster by battle this turn and sent it to the graveyard, you can detach one overlay unit from this card; this card can make an additional attack in a row. During the end phase, if this card was destroyed by battle this turn, you can special summon this card from your graveyard. You can only use this effect of 'DB – Hunter' once per turn._

 **Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF**

 _Effect: when an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard, switch all face-up attack position monsters your opponent controls to defence mode. Once per turn during the battle phase, except the turn this card was sent to the graveyard, you can banish this card from your graveyard, all battle damage you would take this turn becomes 0._

* * *

 **Ugh! Finally, I got this done. I would have finished this chapter sooner but a few things got in the way that I had to take care of. But now this story is officially underway and I can't wait to continue this. If you guys enjoyed this chapter then leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update.**

 **Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Defence Is The Best Offence

Lennox let out a huge yawn as he awoke. Sleep had seemed to evade him ever since Saturday's events. He now seemed to wake up with a thumping headache every morning and today was no exception. Sometimes he wondered if Saturday had even happened.

"Lennox!" Amy called. "Your breakfast is on the table! Hurry up or you'll be late!" Lennox turned and looked at the clock on his nightstand to see it was 7:15.

" _What?! I never sleep in!"_ He thought worriedly. Lennox then leapt out of bed and dashed around his room, attempting to get everything ready on time. His uniform was already hung up in his wardrobe and all he had to do was pack a few things. Lennox practically leapt downstairs into the kitchen and rushed over to the table where his cereal was. He then began to eat it quickly.

"Woah! Slow down! You'll choke!" Amy said worriedly. Lennox ignored her and continued to wolf down the cereal.

After a well-needed shower and some clothes, Lennox had finally gotten ready, and on time too. His clock read 7:53, which gave him just over 10 minutes before he had to leave. Lennox was busy shuffling through his deck, looking to see if there were any weaknesses in it. One problem he had found was the draw engine. He played very few draw cards and needed to play more if he was to keep a card advantage. His eyes then turned to his extra deck box. He remembered the single Xyz monster that was in there. Out of curiosity he opened it up and pulled out the card. He stared at it intently, noting every single detail of the card. He distinctly remembered that he heard his monster talk. It must have. It spoke about a 'utopia' or something, Lennox wasn't sure though. Just then the card flashed and the ghostly image of the monster appeared in front of him. Lennox fell on his back as the 'ghost' suddenly appeared. It stood there with its arms folded and a serious look on its face before turning to Lennox.

"Hi, there" Dawn Sword spoke in a gentle voice.

Amy had finished packing her bag when she could have sworn she just heard Lennox scream. She dropped her bag and dashed upstairs to his room. She flung the door open to find Lennox sitting on the floor.

"Lennox! Are you ok? I heard you scream!" She yelled concern.

"Huh? Wha?" Lennox began and he turned to find Amy standing there in worry. "Oh, I'm…ok. I just…hit my head! And…it really hurt! That why I yelled" he lied. What was he supposed to say? That the ghost of one his cards appeared in his room and started talking to him?

"Oh, Thank God" Amy sighed with relief. "Don't ever scare me like that again! I thought someone broke in!"

"Don't worry I won't" replied Lennox with a fake smile. He could have sworn he heard Dawn Sword laughing.

"Ok. Well, I need to leave now; these reports aren't going to finish themselves. Lock up when you're done. And please don't wake the Stupid Sun. He had trouble sleeping and I want him to get as much rest as he can" Amy explained.

"Ok then. I'll see you tonight Amy" Lennox answered before Amy left the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door shut, Lennox smile turned into a frown as he whirled around at the monster spirit.

"What the hell was that for?!" Lennox said in a hushed yell, so not to alert Amy. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry" Dawn Sword replied in an annoyed tone of equal volume. "It's not my fault you humans are such fragile creatures."

"Ok, whatever. Just what exactly are you? And why are you here?" Lennox asked, getting straight to the point.

"What does it look like? I'm your Number" Dawn Sword answered.

"Ok…" Lennox said confused. "So, you're my Number monster then? Then what is your purpose?" he asked.

"I don't actually know" Dawn Sword admitted. "I didn't really exist before you crafted the form I wield now."

"So I made you?" Lennox asked.

"Essentially yes, you are my creator. The only thing I really remember was being held in that god-awful seal. After that, the last thing I remember was just…I dunno, being made" Dawn Sword explained.

"Do you remember anything else?" Lennox asked.

"No, not much. Only snippets. I remember fighting. Then dying, and then being sealed. That's pretty much most of it" Dawn Sword said.

"Ok. So you were fighting and then died. Then you were sealed away" Lennox repeated, trying to keep track of what the Number was saying.

"Yep, that's it. Although, it didn't feel like it was me fighting. It felt like someone else" Dawn Sword said.

"Great" groaned Lennox. "I have a monster with amnesia." Just then he saw the clock. 8:10. "Shoot! I'm going to be late if I don't get moving!" Lennox yelled as he grabbed his bag which held his books, D-Pad and D-Gazer.

"Where are you going?" Dawn Sword asked curiously.

"To school," Lennox said as he returned Dawn Sword back into his extra deck box. "It's where young humans like myself go to learn" Lennox explained as he left the room with Dawn Sword following.

"You know, you did say something interesting when you first appeared," Lennox said as he exited the house.

"Really? What did I say?" Dawn Sword asked.

"You said something about a 'utopia'" Lennox replied as he locked the door.

"Utopia? Yes! Utopia was another Number that I was very close to" Dawn Sword explained.

"Really?" Lennox asked as he took off running down the street.

"Yes! I'm starting to remember now. We often fought and trained together. It's all coming back now. I just need to adjust to this new form" Dawn Sword said.

"Well that's good then," Lennox said as he ran around a corner. He then remembered something. "Hey Dawn Sword, I need your help with something," he asked.

"What with?" Dawn Sword asked. Lennox ran down a small street and into a park.

"I've been given the task to collect the Numbers to stop them from falling into the wrong hands. In order to do that I need your help though" Lennox explained.

"Of course. You created me and are therefore my master. I will, of course, assist you in any mission needed" Dawn Sword said. Lennox smiled.

"Thank you, Dawn Sword," he thanked the monster.

Lennox had soon left the park and was almost at the crossroads where he usually met up with Yuma and the others. Dawn Sword had now retreated into his card, as not to alert any of Lennox's friends of his presence. As Lennox ran up to Yuma, he could see that Yuma was apparently yelling into thin air, with Tetsuo and Kotori facepalming.

"Hey guys" Lennox greeted as he walked up to them.

"What do you mean you don't know how?! All you have to do is float over there!" Yuma yelled.

"Errm? Is Yuma alright?" Lennox asked Kotori.

"I don't know" Kotori sighed. "Ever since his duel with Shark, Yuma claims that there's this blue dueling spirit following him around. But the thing is, is that only Yuma can see him."

"Wow. I guess Shark really done a number on him if Yuma is talking to himself then" Lennox said.

"Actually…Yuma beat Shark" Tetsuo revealed. Lennox' eyes nearly shot out their sockets.

"Get out! Yuma actually beat Shark!" He exclaimed.

"Yep, we were there as witnesses," Kotori said. At this point in time, Yuma was still arguing with the air. The three friends began to walk. Yuma the noticed this and began to follow. He then saw that Lennox was there.

"Hey, Lennox! Do you have a Number card?" Yuma suddenly asked. Lennox froze. How the hell did Yuma of all people know about the Numbers?

"Um…what's a Number?" Lennox lied. Yuma may have been his friend, but he couldn't let anyone know about his mission. Letting him know would put him or anyone else at risk, so it was best to keep quiet.

"You know. It's one of those dangerous and rare Xyz monsters like these" Yuma said and reached into his extra deck and pulled out two Number cards. Number 47: Nightmare Shark and Number 39: Utopia. Lennox's eyes widened as he saw Utopia.

 _"That was the Number Dawn Sword was talking about,"_ he thought. Astral who was eavesdropping on the conversation noticed Lennox's reaction and spoke to Yuma immediately.

"Yuma! Your friend knows something. I can tell from his facial expression. He must have a Number" he told Yuma.

"Huh? He does?" Wondered Yuma and then turned to Lennox. "Astral says you have a Number. So, let's duel for them!" He suddenly said.

"Wait!" Cried, Lennox. "I don't have a Number! I don't even know what they are!" He lied. He then realised something. _"Yuma may have beaten Shark after all! He must have gotten one of those two Numbers and beaten him with them. If so, then I'm in trouble. He may actually be stronger than he is. And with two Numbers by his side, he outnumbers me two to one. If I'm going to get his Numbers then I need to collect more before I challenge him"_ Lennox thought.

"Well…can I check your extra deck just to be sure?" Yuma asked and reached for Lennox's extra deck. Lennox saw this and swatted Yuma's hand away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Yuma!" Lennox cried, outraged. Kotori and Tetsuo gave a look of surprise. They had never seen Lennox get angry at Yuma before, no matter what ridiculous stunt Yuma pulled. "I told you I don't have a Number! And besides! I don't even have any Xyz monsters in my extra deck! All I can see is that you're acting like a complete fool and accusing me of things which aren't true!"

"Lennox…I-" began Yuma, but Lennox cut him off.

"Save it! I don't want to hear your excuses!" he yelled. Before anyone could say anything else, Lennox turned and ran off. Yuma, Kotori and Tetsuo just stared in disbelief and shock.

"Where did that come from?" Tetsuo wondered. Astral merely floated above the teens in curiosity.

"Observation Number 5: When feeling threatened, Humans resort to yelling and shouting to defend themselves" he noted.

Lennox kept running down the street, not looking back. He felt sick inside, it was a horrible feeling that he hated. But like he always did. He swallowed and pushed that feeling deep inside him, bottling it up so it couldn't hurt him anymore.

* * *

Lennox thankfully reached school with only a few minutes to spare. He still felt bad but tried to ignore it. He hated how it kept nibbling at him. He entered the classroom and sat down at his desk. It was the second last desk on the fourth row, which was just in front of Yuma and Kotori's desk. Lennox had just begun to unpack when a familiar face sat next to him.

"Hi, Lennox," they said. Lennox the noticed them after a short time.

"Oh, hi Ruby" Lennox replied sadly. Ruby wasn't like most girls. She was much shyer than the other girls in the class who were more talkative. That being said, she didn't have many friends due to her shy nature but was a nice person to talk to. Keeping to her namesake, she had short neck length red hair that was very red in colour, amber eyes and very pale skin. She was currently wearing the first-year Heartland Academy girls uniform.

She noticed that Lennox wasn't his usual happy self.

"Lennox? What's wrong?" Ruby asked him. Lennox stopped unpacking his bag and turned to speak to her.

"I…just yelled at Yuma this morning and now I feel terrible about it" he admitted.

"Well…if you feel bad about it then you should talk to him" Ruby advised. Lennox looked at her.

"Talk to him?" He asked.

"Yeah! If you talk to him and just explain why you yelled at him then the problem would be resolved quicker" Ruby said.

"Well…if you think that would be the best option, then I'll give it a try," Lennox said. Just then, Yuma, Kotori and Tetsuo walked through the door.

"Looks like it can be resolved much faster than you thought," Ruby said as he opened up her bag and began to rummage around for her D-Pad. Tetsuo left Yuma and Kotori to go to his desk while Yuma and Kotori took their seats. Lennox then leant over the back of his chair to speak to Yuma.

"Hey Yuma, I'm sorry for earlier. I've just been a bit on edge for these past few days and I just sorta snapped" Lennox apologised.

"Hey! It's fine! I shouldn't have been so pushy" Yuma replied with a smile. Lennox smiled back.

"Thank you, Yuma. You're a true friend."

"Alright! Alright! Settle down!" A voice called out. The students turned to see that their teacher, Professor Ukyo, had walked into the room. The students that were still standing around quickly took to their desks and got out their D-Pads. "Now then, I would like all of you to access your textbooks and we can begin from where we left off last Friday," Professor Ukyo said as he began to boot up the monitors. The students all did the same and connected their D-Pads to the school's network. Just as the monitors finished loading, the screens glitched and turned red with the word 'ERROR' across the middle. The same thing happened with the students D-Pads.

"Huh? What happened?" Ruby asked. Lennox tried to fiddle around with his D-Pad, trying to access the network, but to no avail.

"Nothing," he said. "The whole thing's busted." Several other students had now begun to complain and chatter.

"Alright! Listen up everyone!" Professor Ukyo called out. "It looks like the schools broadcasting computers are down due to yesterday's communication bug. This means we won't be able to access the textbooks" he explained. Several students began to murmur excitedly about not having to do school work. "Now, the cause of this incident was-"

"Professor! I can answer this!" Takashi Todoroki, the class representative interrupted.

"Oh? Do you know something about this Class Rep?" Professor Ukyo asked.

"Here we go" groaned Lennox as Class Rep stood at the front of the room. As Class Rep began to give an explanation for the virus attack, Lennox's mind began to wonder.

" _Maybe a Number is the cause of this? It would make sense as this just happened after they appeared, and Heartland's never had something like this happen before"_ he thought.

"Hey! Professor Ukyo! If we can't do work then let's have a duel tournament!" Yuma yelled out, snapping Lennox out of his thoughts.

"A duel tournament? Well, I suppose we could if the duel servers are still working" Professor Ukyo said.

The class began to chatter happily at the idea while Yuma let out his infamous catchphrase.

"Kattobingu da ore!" Lennox chuckled at this.

"Wow, is dueling the only thing that goes through your head?" He asked Yuma.

"Unfortunately, yes" Kotori answered for him.

* * *

After watching Yuma get destroyed by Class Rep, Lennox had begun to have serious doubts that he had beaten Shark. The next pair of duelists then took their place in the centre of the classroom while Yuma walked shamefully back to her friends. As the duel started, Lennox couldn't help but notice that Ruby was by herself in a corner of the classroom.

"Hang on guys, I'm going to talk to Ruby," Lennox said as he strode over to where she was.

"You okay Ruby? Lennox asked.

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked as she jumped. "Lennox! Don't scare me!" She yelled.

"Sorry, sorry" Lennox apologised. "I saw you over here by yourself. Is something wrong?" He asked. Ruby murmured something to herself. "What?" Asked Lennox.

"I said I don't know how to duel!" She yelled at him. Her face then became red with embarrassment.

Lennox recoiled from the yell.

"You don't know how to duel?" He asked.

"Yes" replied Ruby annoyed. "I never really paid attention to it and now I'm embarrassed to ask someone to teach me" she explained.

"Why on earth would you be embarrassed?" Lennox asked.

"Because I'm thirteen! Everyone knows how to duel at this age! But I don't" she explained. Lennox looked at her and then a thought crossed his mind.

"I'll teach you" he simply said.

"What? You'll teach me?" Asked Ruby.

"Yeah It can't be that hard" Lennox answered. To say this game was easy was an understatement. It was easy for Lennox as he was a fast learner, but some others were still trying to get around the new rulings of the game.

"Oh thank you, Lennox!" Ruby cried happily. Lennox smiled.

"It's fine. When are you next free? I can teach you then" he said.

"Wednesday afternoon" Ruby replied.

"Great! I've got some stuff to do, how about five-ish? You can stay for dinner and then go home" Lennox told her.

"Ok," Ruby said.

"Perfect, training begins Wednesday!" He announced. Ruby just the rest of the day, Lennox explained the different rules of Duel Monsters and card types to Ruby. He had spent most of the day with her, trying to help get her head around the different game mechanics.

"So…I can play a quick-play spell on my opponents turn if I set it? Right?" Ruby said as they were walking.

"That's right!" Lennox told her. "Quick-play spells can be very useful depending on the timing. You should also know when it is best to use them, either in your opponent's turn or yours" he explained.

"I think I get it?" Ruby said.

"Trust me, you'll understand it soon enough" Lennox chuckled. Just then they saw a crowd that had gathered outside a small shop. "Wonder what's going on," Lennox said as he and Ruby walked over.

As the pair got closer, they could see the front door was busted and the windows were broken. Lennox then recognised the shop.

"No!" He breathed as he ran towards it and began to push through the crowd.

"Lennox! Wait up!" Ruby called as she followed. Lennox soon escaped the crowd to see Ging talking to a police officer.

"Yo Ging! What happened?" Lennox called to him. Ging and the police officer looked at Lennox before Ging said something to the police officer and she left. Ging then walked over to Lennox.

"Hey Lennox" he greeted. "You'll never believe it but, some bloody idiot ran into my shop and robbed it!" He explained. "He did it right in front of me! I tried to stop him but the bugger slipped away from me and busted the door on their way out" Ging growled.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Lennox asked his friend.

"Afraid not" sighed Ging. "But don't worry, the law will handle this. They'll catch that scumbag." Lennox looked at his friend with concern but then smiled.

"Alright then, I'll see you soon. Hope everything goes alright" Lennox said as he turned to leave.

"See ya kiddo!" Ging called and Lennox squirmed through the crowd again.

Lennox soon met up with Ruby again as she couldn't get through the crowd which had grown larger since Lennox left her.

"What happened?" She asked.

"My friend Ging got his store robbed by some jerk" Lennox explained.

"Oh dear" Ruby sympathised.

"It's ok," Lennox told her. "He'll be back on his feet soon. The two then decide to leave and get home before it got dark.

* * *

The next day was the same as usual. The problem with the virus attack had been solved. Apparently, a Number _was_ involved in it. Yuma had defeated the holder which surprisingly was Professor Ukyo and stopped the attack. Lennox had spent the day teaching Ruby about the different summoning methods which had confused her. They both then decided that it would be best if Lennox taught her on the actual training session tomorrow. Lennox was now sitting by himself on the couch, flipping through the different channels. Just then the door flung open with a loud bang. A very livid Amy then walked into the house clutching her D-Gazer.

"Yikes, what happened to you?" Lennox asked. nothing good ever happened when Amy was angry.

"Some little shi- I mean punk stole my purse. From right in front of me too!" She growled angrily.

"What? You too?" Lennox said.

"Yeah! This thief has been going around stealing people's things from right in front of them! When I get my hands on him, I swear I'll-!" Amy said before she was interrupted by the ringing from her D-Gazer. "Hang on, I need to take this" Amy said as she walked into the kitchen.

Lennox turned back to the TV and flipped to the next channel which had the news.

"The thief that is terrorising Heartland has struck again on several times down Cromish Road. Their reasoning for this is unclear, but police are hopeful that they'll catch this criminal with the help of this image of the suspect" the reporter spoke. An image enlarged on the screen with the picture of a person in a brown trench coat, black hat and sunglasses. Dawn Sword then appeared behind the couch.

"Master! Do you see that!" Dawn Sword exclaimed.

"See what?" asked Lennox. He then peered at the screen. Lennox didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn he saw a faint yellow glow coming from under the man's shirt. Lennox quick got out his D-Pad which was resting next to him and went on the news' website.

Sure enough, the report was already on there as a video. Lennox played the video and paused when the security camera image appeared on the screen. He was right, there was a glow coming from the man's chest. He then enlarged the image to get a better look of the glow. Lennox gasped when he saw the faint image of a glowing 52 under the man's shirt.

"Of course! He has a Number! That's why those robberies have been so successful!" He said to Dawn Sword.

"So what do we do Master?" Dawn Sword asked.

"We find this guy, we duel him for his Number, and we return those stolen items. Nobody messes with my friends and family and gets away with it" Lennox told Dawn Sword.

"Ok Master. But how are we going to catch him?" Dawn Sword asked. Lennox smiled.

"Don't worry Dawn Sword, I have a plan."

* * *

It was currently 4:35 the next day. Lennox had phoned Ruby and told her she was free to come for her lesson. He had made it sure though that she told him which way she was going. Ruby understood this as the thief was lurking around the area where they lived. Lennox had given her directions where to go. Ruby shut the door and began her trek towards Lennox's house, unaware that she was being watched. The figure slowly moved through the shadows, eyeing their next prey.

* * *

Lennox tore through the streets, trying to find the path that Ruby was taking. Though it would work, the plan would be horrible for Ruby. The initial idea was for Ruby to be used as bait to lure out the thief. Lennox would be watching from afar and once the thief attempted to mug Ruby, Lennox would strike, catching the thief by surprise and taking their Number. Lennox did feel a bit bad for using Ruby, but this was his best shot at capturing the thief. Unfortunately, Ruby would then know about Lennox's mission for the Numbers, and that was something Lennox did not want. He soon reached a turning that led off down to another street. He had a choice, straight ahead, or turn.

"Damn it! I can't remember which one she said!" He grumbled. Just then he heard a cry up ahead.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

"That voice…" Lennox said to himself, he recognised it. "Ruby! Hang on Ruby! I'm coming!"

Lennox shot forward at an alarming speed. Adrenalin pumped through his blood as he moved faster and faster, desperate to get to his friend in need. His breathing deepened and his heart beat grew quickly as he ran along the street and across the road. Up ahead, he saw Ruby in her uniform with the same man from the picture. It appeared they were struggling over Ruby's school bag.

"Let go!" Ruby cried as she tugged the bag.

"Hand it over girlie!" The thief yelled as he yanked the bag from Ruby and pushed her down.

"Hey!" Roared Lennox. The thief turned to see Lennox charging towards him. The man then took off running from his pursuer. Anger surged through Lennox as he sped up in order to catch the man.

"I got this!" Lennox called as he sped past Ruby who had just gotten up.

"Hey! Wait!" Ruby called and ran after them. Ruby was thankful that she was a good runner or else she would have never caught up to Lennox. The man tore through the street and slid over the bonnet of a car which stopped just in the nick of time. The driver pressed on his horn angrily as Lennox and Ruby ran past. The man ran into a market up ahead. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't busy, so he couldn't lose Ruby or Lennox in the crowd. He then spotted an alleyway and ran down it after almost missing it. Once Lennox reached it, he stopped and looked to where the man might have run down there as it led to other alleyways. He was about to run down there when Ruby grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I know a short cut!" She yelled and dragged Lennox along.

The man soon reached a dumpster and turned around, panting heavily.

"Finally, I lost those damn kids," he said when he couldn't see them. The man opened the dumpster to reveal that it was full of people's jewellery, wallets, phones, all sorts of expensive items. The man placed Ruby's bag into the dumpster when he was attacked from behind.

"Got ya!" Lennox cried as he leapt onto the man's back and attempted to removed his disguise.

"Get off me ya brat!" The man yelled and threw Lennox off, causing him to lose his hat in the process. Lennox looked up to see the man had a bald head and began to laugh. "Quit your sniggering!" He yelled and moved forward.

"Leave him alone!" Yelled Ruby who was behind Lennox. The man took a step back.

"You kids don't know when to quit do ya?" He said. "That's right!" Lennox yelled as he got up. "Now hand over your Number and everyone's things!" He yelled at the man, pointing his finger at him. The man laughed.

"And what makes you think I'll hand it all over. Thanks to this card, I'm going to become rich!" The man yelled and he raised his Number card.

"By stealing? How low" Lennox spat. He then looked at the man with a serious expression. "I know I can't force you to hand over everything, so let's duel for it all" Lennox announced. The man laughed again.

"And what makes you think I'll agree?" He asked with a smug smile. Lennox gave a confident smile.

"Ok then, I guess you don't want my Number then. I thought a thief such as yourself would know how valuable these cards are" Lennox lead on with a shrug. The man paused for a minute.

"What do ya mean, valuable?" He asked cautiously.

"These Number cards are the rarest Xyz monsters you'll find" Lennox continued. "There's one for each Number so their one of a kind cards, almost priceless if you ask me." The man looked at his Number again. Lennox could see he was struggling with his own greed. He decided to push him more. "It's fine if you don't want it, I can find someone else who will." He turned as if he were to leave.

"Wait!" Called out the man. Lennox turned back. "You said you have a Number?" Lennox opened up his extra deck and showed it to the man.

"Does it look like I'm a guy who would lie?" he said. The man grinned at the sight of the Number.

"Perfect. Alrighty then, you wanted a duel for the Number cards, then fine, I'll duel ya kid. I win and that Numbers mine" the man said as he got out his D-Pad. Lennox was still grinning as he reached for his own.

"That's fine. But if I win, I get your Number and all the things you stole" Lennox declared.

"Then it's a bet!" The man yelled as he tossed up his D-Pad, activating it. Lennox did the same, both of their D-Pads now changing into duel disks. "Duel Disk, set!" The duel disks clacked onto their wrists as the pair got out their D-Gazers. "D-Gazer, set!" Both then placed their D-Gazer on their left eyes as the AR vision soon surrounded them.

 **AR VISON LINK ESTABLISHED**

Ruby didn't put on a D-Gazer. Her left eye glowed, as it connected with the AR system. This had always been the case with Ruby. Her parents and doctors had tried to find an explanation but nothing came up. Eventually, people got over it and had just begun to live with it. Ruby couldn't help but wonder what Lennox and the man were talking about.

" _Numbers? What the heck are they? I thought Lennox didn't have Xyz monsters. But he pulled one right out of his extra deck! Somethings up"_ she thought.

 **DUEL!**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Tetsuya: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

"Age before beauty brat!" Tetsuya yelled as he drew a card. "Draw!"

 **TURN: 1**

 **Tetsuya: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I'll set one monster and another card facedown. Turn end!" Tetsuya said as the facedowns appeared on the field. Lennox stared at his opponent's field.

" _Set cards? He might be using a hermit style deck"_ Lennox thought as he went to draw his first card.

 **Tetsuya: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

"Your facedowns don't scare me! Draw!" Lennox announced as he drew. Ruby stared in admiration.

" _Wow, Lennox is so confident with himself. I wanna be just like that"_ she thought.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

Lennox weighed his options carefully. He didn't know the exact defence of his opponent's monster, and with what he had seen on Monday with Yuma, it would reckless to attack head on. Then again, it could just be a bluff and he would be over thinking it. He looked at the card he drew.

 _"Hope Help! With this, I can make a huge dent in his life points. But I need two monsters in order to use it."_ Lennox placed the card in his hand and picked out another card.

"I summon Constellar Kaus!" One of Lennox's most trusted monsters soon rose up onto his field. This one being his signature white armoured centaur. The beatstick raised its bow, ready to strike its opponent down.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

Kaus was the strongest monster in Lennox's hand, so he was confident that it could handle his opponent's defence. "Kaus! Take out his monster!" Lennox ordered. The centaur obeyed as he pulled the string of his bow back allowing the light arrow to form. The arrow was then released at the opponent's monster which soon flipped face up, revealing the creature that was hidden. This monster was a large white crab, about the size of Tetsuya with large crystals on its back and what appeared to be gold in between them.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Gold Crab: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/200 ATK/2000 DEF**

The arrow was blocked by the crab's claws and was deflected back at Lennox. The arrow hit Lennox which caused him to grunt in pain and at his own foolishness. Tetsuya laughed at Lennox's misfortune.

"Nice try kid! But nothing can get past my Gold Crab!" He laughed. Lennox just grumbled as he watched his life decrease.

 **Lennox: 4000 – 200 = 3800**

"Wow, 2000 defence points," Ruby said in awe.

"It may be powerful, but it's not invincible," Lennox told her as he picked out two cards. "I'll set two cards, your go."

 **Lennox: 3800**

 **Hand: 3**

"About time!" Complained Tetsuya as he went to draw his card. He then stopped. "But instead of drawing I'll use the effect of my crab! Now I can add another Gold Crab to my hand instead of drawing" Tetsuya explained as he pulled out another Gold Crab from his deck.

 **TURN 3**

 **Tetsuya: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

"Now I'll summon my second Gold Crab!" Announced Tetsuya as an identical crab with crystals and gold on its back appeared.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Gold Crab: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/200 ATK/2000 DEF**

Lennox gritted his teeth when he saw the levels of Tetsuya's crabs.

"Ruby, he has two level fours," Lennox told her. Ruby noticed this too.

"Oh yeah! He's going to Xyz summon isn't he!" She commented.

"Right you are!" Tetsuya laughed as he raised his hand. "I now overlay my two level four Gold Crabs!" The two crabs turned fully orange before shooting up into the air as streams of energy. "With these two monster's I build the overlay network!"

"Here it comes!" Lennox yelled as the galaxy portal opened in front of Tetsuya and a strong wind began to blow. The two monsters sailed in and a burst of golden light shortly followed.

"Xyz summon! Rise beast of grand fortune! Number 52: Diamond Crab King!" The number 52 appeared and flashed golden yellow. Out of the portal then rose what appeared to be a large hunk of shining crystals. Ruby was initially confused by this.

"Huh? That's the monster?" Ruby asked confused.

"Just wait," Lennox told her. Suddenly, the crystals began to change shape and transform. The hunk soon grew, with the crystals becoming large tall pillars. A body seemed to crawl out from underneath the large mass. Lennox and Ruby could see that it was the body of a crab which was blue in colour and had the number 52 pulsating on its left pincer. It let out an ear-piercing cry which made Ruby and Lennox hold their ears.

 **Number 52: Diamond Crab King: Rank 4/EARTH/Rock/Xyz/0 ATK/3000 DEF/2 Overlay Units**

Tetsuya grinned evilly as a dark aura flowed over him. He pulled down his shirt to reveal the pulsating number 52 on his chest. Lennox looked at the monster in confusion.

"0 attack points and in attack mode? There must be an effect in play" he said to himself.

"Why is it in attack mode?" Ruby asked loudly. Lennox just sweat dropped.

" _I just said that."_ Tetsuya gave a slow, sarcastic clap.

"Well done for stating the fucking obvious" he spat rudely. "Why it's in attack mode, you'll soon see. I activate Crab King's effect! By using an overlay unit, it can swap its attack and defence points!"

"What!" Cried Lennox as the giant jewelled crustacean absorbed one of its overlay units into its crystals. The crystals gave off a bright light as its power was changed.

 **Crab King Overlay Units: 1**

 **Crab King ATK: 3000**

 **Crab King DEF: 0**

"Now Crab King! Attack that puny monster of his!" Crab King aimed its claw at Kaus. Kaus gave a look of shock as the claw rocketed towards him.

"I activate my trap! Dimension Wall!" Retaliated Lennox as the trap flipped up. "Now you take the damage instead of me!" The giant claw shot through Kaus, destroying it instantly. It then went directly for Lennox. As it did, a portal opened in front of Lennox and the claw flew into it. A second portal opened up in front of Tetsuya and the claw flew out and struck him instead, causing him to fly back.

 **Tetsuya: 4000 – 1200 = 2800**

"Grr! Lucky move!" Tetsuya scoffed as Crab King began to raise its claws in a defensive manner. Lennox looked on confused while Tetsuya began to explain. "After battling, my Crab King changes battle positions and regains its defence points. I end my turn!"

 **Crab King ATK: 0**

 **Crab King DEF: 3000**

 **Tetsuya: 2800**

 **Hand: 4**

Lennox grunted at this. This would make Crab King hard to beat if it could change battle positions.

"My turn! Draw!" He announced.

 **TURN: 4**

 **Lennox: 3800**

 **Hand: 4**

He stared at the card he drew, trying to think of a strategy. He had just lost his best chance of summoning Dawn Sword, but all hope was not lost. He did have a card that could return Kaus to his hand. But he needed to get rid of another monster first. "I summon Satellarknight Alsahm!" The small white armoured humanoid from Lennox's duel with the Duel Blood appeared. It raised its bow at Tetsuya, already having it loaded.

 **Satellarknight Alsahm: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1400 ATK/1800 DEF**

"Now for Alsahm's effect! When he's summoned, you take 1000 points of damage!" Alsahm let loose the arrow which flew past Crab King who was unable to protect its master. The arrow pierced through Tetsuya's body and he fell on one knee.

 **Tetsuya: 2800 – 1000 = 1800**

"I end my turn!" Lennox stated.

 **Lennox: 3800**

 **Hand:3**

Tetsuya slowly picked himself up off the ground.

"You'll pay for that" he growled as he drew his card.

 **TURN: 5**

 **Tetsuya: 1800**

 **Hand: 5**

"First I switch my Crab King back into attack mode!" The jewelled crab lowered its claws down. "Next I summon **Jewelled Crustacean – Ruby Lobster** in attack mode!" The monster that Tetsuya called next was a large red lobster that had lumps of ruby crystals growing out of its body.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Ruby Lobster: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/1200 ATK/1800 DEF**

Lennox cringed at the monster while Tetsuya laughed. "Try all you wish! But soon the entire field will be swarmed my crustaceans! There is no hope for you!"

"Do your worst!" Lennox retaliated. Tetsuya grinned.

"Be careful what you wish for! I use Crab King's effect again! Now his attack and defence are swapped!" Crab King absorbed its second overlay unit and its crystals began to glow once again.

 **Crab King Overlay Units: 0**

 **Crab King ATK: 3000**

 **Crab King DEF: 0**

"Now Crab King! Attack Alsahm!" Crab King's claw shot forward and through Alsahm, destroying it. It then struck Lennox, sending him flying back.

 **Lennox: 3800 – 1600 = 2200**

"I'm not done yet! Lobster! Attack him directly!" Ruby Lobster surged forward, slamming into Lennox before he even got a chance to get up.

 **Lennox: 2200 – 1200 = 1000**

"Lennox! Are you alright!" Ruby called out concerned. Lennox slowly sat up and gave Ruby a thumb up.

"I'm good Ruby, I've had worse," he told her.

"How touching," Tetsuya said in disgust as Crab King raised its claws.

 **Crab King ATK: 0**

 **Crab King DEF: 3000**

"I now play Mystik Wok! Now by sacrificing my Lobster, I regain life points equal to its defence points." A giant wok appeared on the field and Ruby Lobster was dropped into it. After being cooked in there for a while, the wok disappeared and Tetsuya's life was restored.

 **Tetsuya: 1800 + 1800 = 3600**

"Now I play my trap card! **Ore Mining**! Now I can banish three Jewelled crustaceans from my graveyard to draw two cards!" Tetsuya did so. "I end my turn"

 **Tetsuya: 3600**

 **Hand: 5**

" _Damn! He restored his life and hand. Things are looking pretty bad now"_ Lennox thought as he assessed the situation. Ruby looked on in concern. "My turn! Draw!" Yelled Lennox.

 **TURN: 6**

 **Lennox: 1000**

 **Hand: 4**

" _Eclipse Shield? Not really what I wanted…but I could still use it"_ Lennox thought. "I activate the spell, **Ray Of Hope**! Now by banishing one Light attribute monster from my graveyard, I can add another one from my graveyard to my hand! Only thing is, it has to have the same level!" Two cards ejected themselves from Lennox's graveyard. "I banish Satellarknight Alsahm to add back Constellar Kaus!" Lennox pocketed Alsahm and placed Kaus in his hand. "Now, I summon Constellar Sheratan!" This new monster was a small humanoid monster like Alsahm. This one, however, wore white armour with a small yellow cape and two horns on the helmet. It held a pair of small daggers in its hands as it took the field.

 **Constellar Sheratan: Level 3/LIGHT/Beast/700 ATK/1900 DEF**

"Now for his effect! So I can now add one Constellar monster to my hand!" Lennox searched his deck until he found the perfect card. "I'll and Constellar Algiedi to my hand! Turn end!"

 **Lennox: 1000**

 **Hand: 4**

"That's what you call a turn? Pathetic!" Tetsuya laughed as he reached for the top card of his deck.

" _Keep laughing. Just wait until I summon Dawn Sword"_ Lennox thought confidently.

 **TURN: 7**

 **Tetsuya: 3600**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon my **Jewelled Crustacean – Emerald Barnacle**!" What appeared on the field was a giant barnacle with what appeared to be emerald gems sticking out of it.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Emerald Barnacle: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/400 ATK/1600 DEF**

"Next, I play my D.D.R spell!" Tetsuya yelled. Ruby looked confused.

"D.D…R?" She asked.

"Yes, it stands for Different Dimension Reincarnation. Now by discarding a card, I can bring back a banished monster! So welcome back! Ruby Lobster!" The large Lobster took its place on the field next to its comrades.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Ruby Lobster: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/1200 ATK/1800 DEF**

Lennox's eyes widened when he saw the monster's levels.

" _Two level fours?! It can't be!"_

"I overlay my level four Emerald Barnacle and Ruby Lobster!" Tetsuya yelled as he raised his hand. The two monsters transformed into streams of orange energy as they shot up into the air. "With these two monster's I build the overlay network!" A red spiral portal opened up as the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! **Jewelled Crustacean – Sapphire Crab**!" The monster that rose out of the portal was very similar to Crab King. It had large sapphire crystals on its shell and had a white body. The only difference between it and Crab King was that it was smaller and lacked the number 52 on its left pincer.

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Sapphire Crab: Rank 4/EARTH/Rock/Xyz/1000 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

Lennox stared at the newcomer.

" _Attack mode again? It must have an effect in play…"_

"I switch Crab King to attack mode!" Tetsuya announced, shocking Lennox and Ruby.

"But it has 0 attack points!" Protested Ruby.

"Very observant, but my Sapphire Crab has an ability you should know about. You see, by using one of its overlay units, it can swap the attack and defence of all monsters I control until the end phase!" Tetsuya explained.

"What?!" Cried Lennox as the smaller crab absorbed one of its overlay units, sending out a bright light.

 **Sapphire Crab Overlay Units: 1**

 **Crab King ATK: 3000**

 **Sapphire Crab ATK: 1800**

Lennox stepped back in fear. This was becoming too much for him to handle.

"Crab King! Attack Sheratan now!" Tetsuya ordered. Carb King aimed its claw and went to strike Sheratan.

"I activate the effect of **Eclipse Shield** in my hand! By sending it to the graveyard, I can change your monsters to defence mode!" Countered Lennox. The very same shield that saved him in his battle with the Duel Blood appeared. It blocked the strike from the claw and then gave off a blinding light which forced Tetsuya's crabs to raise their claws in a defensive manner.

 **Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF**

"Fine!" Growled Tetsuya. "I activate another copy of Mystik Wok! So I'll tribute my Sapphire Crab and gain life points equal to its attack points!" Once again, the giant wok appeared and Sapphire Crab was dropped into it. The wok was stirred for a bit before disappearing.

 **Tetsuya: 3600 + 1800 = 5400**

"Hahaha! My life will continue to increase while yours drops!" Tetsuya laughed. "That Number is as good as mine!"

"No, it isn't! like hell, I'd let you win this!" Lennox shouted.

"Pfft! Whatever! I end my turn!" Tetsuya said.

 **Tetsuya: 5400**

 **Hand: 2**

Lennox took in a deep breath as he placed his hand on top of his deck.

"My turn! Draw!" He yelled as he drew.

 **TURN: 8**

 **Lennox: 1000**

 **Hand: 5**

Lennox stared at his hand carefully, deciding what move to make.

" _Come on! There's got to be a way around that defence! I could summon Dawn Sword, but then what difference would that make? Ughh! Come on! Think!"_

Ruby could see that Lennox was struggling with himself and finally decided to speak up.

"Come on Lennox! You can do this!" Lennox looked at her. "You told me that people may be strong! But nobody's invincible! I know you can win!" Lennox gave a small smile at Ruby's support while Tetsuya looked on with disgust.

"Ugh! What a pathetic attempt at a pep speech" he spat with disgust in his voice. Lennox turned back at Tetsuya with a smile.

"Hey! I'm still in this duel! So that means I still have a chance to win!" He yelled boldly. Tetsuya smirked.

"Come on then! Let's see what you're made of!" He yelled teasingly.

Lennox's mind began to work as he tried to come up with a plan to get over Tetsuya's defence. Numbers could only be destroyed by other Numbers so he had to use Dawn Sword. Then a thought came to him. He looked at Crab King and remembered what Tetsuya had said earlier in the duel.

" _Yes, of course! That's it!"_ Lennox thought as his mind began to formulate a plan. Tetsuya frowned once he saw Lennox's confident expression. "This duel is mine! I summon Consteallar Algiedi!" Lennox announced as he slapped the card on to his disk. The familiar white armoured spellcaster rose up onto the field, swinging her staff.

 **Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/1600 ATK/1400 DEF**

"And how is she going to help you?" Scoffed Tetsuya.

"With her effect!" Answered Lennox. "Now I can summon another Constellar monster to my field! Welcome back Constellar Kaus!" Lennox's signature Centaur appeared on the field with its bow ready.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

"Now for Kaus' effect! Twice per turn, I can increase or decrease the level of a Constellar by one! I use Kaus' effect on himself and Algiedi!" Kaus fired up two arrows which rained down light on him and Algiedi.

 **Kaus Level: 4 – 5**

 **Algiedi Level: 4 – 5**

"Two level fives…" murmured Ruby.

"I overlay my level 5 Constellar Kaus and Algiedi!" The two monsters shot up into the air as yellow streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" A golden galactic portal opened up at Lennox's feet. The two monsters swirled into the portal before a burst of golden light occurred. "Xyz summon! Descend! Rank 5! **Number 89: Dawn Sword**!" The number 89 appeared and flashed dark pink before the sealed sword that was Dawn Sword appeared. The sword then transformed and changed into the mighty monster while Ruby looked on with awe.

 **Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Gah! You may have summoned your Number! But it can't beat my Crab King!" Tetsuya stated boldly. Lennox grinned.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked.

"Eh?"

Lennox thrusted his hand forward.

"Sheratan! Attack Crab King now!" Sheratan gave a look of horror at his master's commands. Sheratan sighed and charged forward with his daggers ready. Ruby and Tetsuya looked on with shock and confusion.

"Have you gone mad? Crab Kings defence is far higher than you monsters attack. Has the pressure finally gotten to you?" Tetsuya said.

"You wish" Lennox spat back. "I activate Eclipse Shield's other effect! By banishing it, the damage I take this turn becomes 0!" True Lennox's word, the shield appeared once again in front of him to block the damage. Sheratan struck the crab with his daggers, but the crab's shell was too thick to penetrate, and Sheratan was knocked back.

Tetsuya was completely confused.

"What was the point in that?!" He yelled. "You don't get anything out of that attack!"

"Actually, I do" replied Lennox and pointed towards Crab King. Tetsuya looked at his monster to see that it was now lowering its claws and coming out of its defensive stance.

"Wha? What happened?" He asked confused.

"You said it yourself," Lennox told him. "Crab King changes battle positions after battling."

Ruby hit her fist on her palm.

"That's right!" She remembered.

"And with 0 attack points, it's in prime position to be taken out by Dawn Sword" Lennox continued as Dawn Sword glared at the crab.

"But-But I have way more life points! You won't beat me this turn…unless…" Tetsuya trailed off.

"Unless I have one more card to play" Lennox finished for him, glancing towards his set card. Ruby realised Lennox's plan.

" _Of course! His set card!"_ She thought.

"I activate my last card! The trap **Hope Help**!" The trap flipped itself face up. "With this, I can tribute one monster to double the attack points of another! I tribute Sheratan to double Dawn Sword's attack points!" Sheratan dissolved into sparkles which then flew over to Dawn Sword and combined with him, giving him a golden glow.

 **Dawn Sword ATK: 2700 x 2 = 5400**

Tetsuya looked at Dawn Swords power in utter disbelief.

"No-No way," he said to himself.

"Now Dawn Sword! Attack Crab King! Rising Dawn!"

Dawn Sword obeyed his master as his legs transformed back into a sword. He then flipped his body upside down and Dawn Sword's blade gave off a blinding bright light was Dawn Sword slashed at Crab King, crushing its crystals and body before it exploded. The resulting force from the explosion sent Tetsuya flying back.

"Oh, crap!" He yelled before slamming into the ground.

 **Tetsuya: 5400 – 5400 = 0**

 **Tetsuya: LOSE**

Lennox let out a massive sigh as he took off his D-Gazer. He walked over to where Tetsuya was. The man was unconscious. The attack must have hit him so hard that he must have knocked him out. But that was impossible. This was augmented reality, you couldn't feel any pain. Lennox the saw Number 52: Diamond Crab King lying next to Tetsuya.

"Mine now," Lennox said as he picked the card up.

"Lennox!" He heard Ruby call. Lennox turned to see Ruby running toward him. "That was amazing! You took all his life points in on attack!"

"It was nothing," Lennox said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "But I can't let anyone hurt my friends."

Ruby just nodded in agreement. The two then looked at the unconscious Tetsuya.

"So, what do we do with him?" Asked Ruby.

"I'll be the judge of that" a voice rang out.

Both teens turned towards the source to see several people standing at the entrance of the alleyway. The middle man and source of the voice stepped forward. Lennox and Ruby gasped at the man. The man wore a green suit that was covered a yellow shirt and had a pair of stylish orange glasses with a crimson 'V' shape. His hair was green like his suit with a lighter shade of green hair at his fringe.

"Mr-Mr Heartland" Lennox stuttered. He couldn't believe his eyes. The mayor of Heartland city himself was standing right in front of him.

"In the flesh," Mr Heartland said. A woman then walked out from behind him.

"Hi Lennox," Amy said.

"Amy? What are you doing here?" Lennox asked. Mr Heartland smiled.

"Well, we were on the way to an important meeting when that thief jumped over the car. Your aunt saw that you were chasing them and persuaded me to help. Being the kind-hearted man I am. I agreed and we followed you to here" Mr Heartland explained.

"Wow, thanks," Lennox said, unsure what to say.

"Don't mention it" Mr Heartland said. He then turned towards two large men standing behind him.

"Take him to the nearest police station to be locked up," Mr Heartland told them. The two men nodded and walked over to Tetsuya who was still unconscious and picked up on arm each. The two men left the alleyway.

"By the way, everyone's things are in here," Lennox said as he opened up the dumpster and pulled out Ruby's bag. Amy walked over and rummaged around the dumpster until she found her purse.

"Oh! It feels so good to get this back" Amy said as she hugged her purse.

"Yes. Young man, I must thank you for capturing this criminal. Because of this, you have stopped any future robberies that would have taken place" Mr Heartland spoke to Lennox.

"It was nothing, really," Lennox said sheepishly.

"Yes. by the way, how did you restrain that man? He was knocked out by the time we arrived" Mr Heartland asked.

"Oh, all I did was challenge him to a duel. After I beat him, he fell unconscious" Lennox explained.

"I see," Mr Heartland said thoughtfully. "I would reward you for your efforts but I'm afraid I don't have anything on me at the moment."

"Oh no!" Lennox said. "I don't need a reward. I just saw my friend get attacked and jumped at the opportunity to help" Lennox explained.

"But you should at least receive some sort of reward" Mr Heartland protested. Just then a thought came to him. "Hang on," he said and snapped his fingers. A man holding a briefcase walked over and opened it up. Lennox and Ruby's jaws practically dropped at the sight.

"Woah! Look at all these rare cards!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Yeah! I didn't think an important person like you would be into Duel Monsters" Lennox said to Mr Heartland. Mr Heartland just laughed.

"My boy, this cities lifeline is Duel Monsters. Without it, the city would hardly exist. I was just going to a meeting about releasing these new promotional cards to the public in an event but I believe it is best if you can have one instead as some sort of reward" Mr Heartland explained.

"Wow. I don't know what to say" Lennox said. Mr Heartland smiled again.

"It's fine. Now, take your pick."

Lennox looked at all the cards. There were lots of tempting ones to take. His eyes soon settled on a light attributed Xyz monster.

"I'll take that one," he said, pointing to the card.

"Excellent choice" Mr Heartland replied as he took out the card and handed it to Lennox. Lennox beamed brightly at the card.

"Excuse me? Sir? I'm afraid we must be off now. the meeting beings in 20 minutes" Amy said.

"Very well then," Mr Heartland said as he looked at Amy. He turned back to Lennox and Ruby. "I'm afraid I must go now, children. I'll leave my men to clear this up. You two can run along home now if you wish" he said. He turned and walked over to his car. Amy turned to leave too.

"Bye Lennox," she said with a wave and followed Mr Heartland to the car along with the briefcase man. Lennox and Ruby waved at them as the car left and were soon alone with Heartland's men.

"I'm beat" Lennox groaned. "Want to head back to mine?" He asked.

"Sure" Amy agreed and the two walked off out the alleyway.

* * *

Shino watched as Lennox and his friend left the alleyway. He turned away and walked down the street the opposite way.

"Yep, he's defiantly the right one," he said to himself.

* * *

As Lennox and Ruby walked back to Lennox's house, Lennox could help but keep looking at his newest Xyz monster.

"You really like that, don't you?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I've finally got a Xyz monster that I can use in regular duels," Lenox told her.

"What about your Number?" Ruby asked. Lennox's face changed to a serious expression.

"I can't," he simply said.

"And why not?" Ruby asked. Lennox let out a sigh.

"I guess it's confession time," he said. Ruby looked at him. "Ruby, what I'm about to tell you must be kept secret. If not, it could potentially endanger the lives of people close to me" Lennox told her. Ruby nodded firmly. "Okay then. These Number cards I have are dangerous. Once they find a host they will possess the host and change into something depending on their will. They will then allow their host to complete their will, that's why that guy was so successful in those robberies as his will was to get rich or something" Lennox explained.

"So, what's your will?" Ruby asked him.

"To be honest, I don't actually know" Lennox sighed. "But for some reason, I'm unaffected by the negative influence of the Numbers, that allows me to collect them without any repercussions. This leads me on to this next part" he continued. Ruby leant in closer to listen better. "There is this strange being. It's called the Duel Blood. For some reason, it wants the Numbers and it's very dangerous. I defeated one last weekend when I first got Dawn Sword. Then, there is this guy called Shino. He's a researcher and told me that if the Numbers fall into the wrong hands then who knows what would happen. That's what my mission is, to find the Numbers and defeat the Duel Blood."

Ruby looked at him.

"You don't believe me right? I know it sounds cliché, but it's all true!" Lennox said. Ruby smiled.

"I believe you," she said. Lennox looked at her hesitantly.

"You do?" He asked.

"Of course! After what happened today it's no doubt that it's true. I can't understand why you would do this though. You seem so selfless and you want nothing in return even though you're putting yourself at risk" Ruby said.

"I'm just doing what I think is right. Mum taught me to always do the right thing. And that's what I'm doing, stopping the Numbers from, falling into the wrong hands" Lennox told her.

"Well I think you're doing a pretty good job so far" Ruby complimented.

"Thank you" Lennox replied. "Please don't tell anyone about this, I don't want them getting in the way and then getting themselves hurt."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me" Ruby replied. "So what now?"

"Now?" Asked Lennox. "I teach you how to play this crazy game."

Ruby just laughed as they walked down the street in the evening light together.

 _Cards made by other authors_

OPFan37

 **Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/**

 _2 level 5 monsters_

 _Effect: Once per turn you can detach one overlay unit from this card and target one monster your opponent controls; while you control this face-up card, its effects are negated and it loses 1000 attack points._

 **Hope Help**

 _Trap_

 _Effect: Activate this card by targeting one monster you control and then another face-up monster you control. Destroy the first target and if you do; double the ATK of the second target until the end phase.  
_

 _Author made cards_

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Gold Crab: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/200 ATK/2000 DEF**

 _Effect: If this face-up card is in defence mode during your draw phase. Instead of drawing you can add one 'Jewelled Crustacean – Gold Crab from your deck to your hand.  
_

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Ruby Lobster: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/1200 ATK/1800 DEF**

 _Effect: If this card is in face-up defence mode; your opponent must attack this card if able. When this card is destroyed by battle; draw one card from your deck._

 **Ore Mining**

 _Trap_

 _Effect: Banish three Jewelled Crustacean monsters from your Graveyard; draw two cards. You can only active one ore mining once per turn._

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Emerald Barnacle: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/400 ATK/1600 DEF**

 _Effect: When your opponent declares a direct attack; negate that attack and if you do; special summon this card (from your hand). Once per turn if this card were to be destroyed by battle; it is not destroyed._

 **Jewelled Crustacean – Sapphire Crab: Rank 4/EARTH/Rock/Xyz/1000 ATK/1800 DEF**

 _2 level 4 Rock type monsters_

 _Effect: Once per turn you can detach one Xyz Material from this card; swap the ATK and DEF of all monsters you control until the end phase. If this card has no Xyz materials, you can attach one of your banished Jewelled Crustacean monsters to this card as a Xyz material._

 **Ray Of Hope**

 _Spell: Banish one level 4 or lower light attribute monster from your Graveyard; add one light attribute monster from your graveyard to your hand with the same level. You can only active one Ray Of Hope once per turn._

 **Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF**

 _Effect: when an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard, switch all face-up attack position monsters your opponent controls to defence mode. Once per turn during the battle phase, except the turn this card was sent to the graveyard, you can banish this card from your graveyard, all battle damage you would take this turn becomes 0._

* * *

 **Finally! I get this chapter done! This was probably the longest chapter I've ever written. But it's done now! anyway, Lennox gets a new Number and Ruby is introduced. Ruby was actually a last-minute thing but the idea of her came to me and I just had to put her in. Also! No! this will not be an OC x OC. Ruby and Lennox will both be paired with other people in the future, so, Spoiler alert! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update!  
**

 **Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bad Blood

Lennox awoke to the light of the warm sun on his skin and the tuneful chirping of the birds. Ever since his first successful capture, Lennox had walked around with a spring in his step. He was in such a joyful mood most of the time, which pleased his friends and family. After getting ready, Lennox soon said his farewells to his father and had set off for school. As he locked the door, he took in a deep breath of fresh air.

"Ah" he began. "Nothing like a load of fresh air to begin the day."

"You've been rather cheerful lately master," Dawn Sword said as he materialised beside Lennox.

"How can I not?" Replied Lennox. "Ever since I got that Number, everything seems to be going my way."

"Yes. Well, let us hope that everything stays your way if you are to gather more Numbers" Dawn Sword said.

"That's right. I still don't particularly trust Yuma. I mean, I know he's my friend, but for him to beat Shark and have _three_ Numbers does ring some alarm bells" Lennox explained.

"I see" Dawn Sword simply answered.

They soon were walking down a road that was full of traffic. It was still rush hour, and with drainage works happening near his house, Lennox had to find alternate routes to take to school. One such route leads down a very busy road. Depending on one's luck, it could be easy or difficult to get through. Today it wasn't particularly bad. The only problem people would have would be the traffic on the road. After a while of silence, Dawn Sword spoke up again.

"Ever since his capture, 52 has been awfully quiet," he said.

"You mean you're not the only sentient Number?" Lennox asked. Dawn Sword nodded.

"Yes. All us Numbers are sentient. Whether we choose to communicate with our hosts is completely up to us. Though in our case, you are not my host, rather my master" Dawn Sword told him.

"I see," Lennox said thoughtfully.

After some thinking, Lennox spoke again.

"I always thought that a Number could only be sentient if the holder wishes them to be," Lennox said.

"No. That is completely false" Dawn Sword informed him. Lennox didn't reply as he focused on getting to school. As he entered the park where he always went through, a thought struck him.

"What would happen if a blank Number came into contact with a Number holder?" Lennox asked. the question came as a surprise to Dawn Sword. He thought for a bit before answering.

"I'm not actually sure," he said. The two soon reached the crossroads and found they were the first ones there.

"Wow, I guess we got here early," Lennox said to himself.

"Not as early as me."

Lennox whirled around at the voice to see a boy with messy brown hair and sharp light green eyes. He wore the Heartland Academy second year uniform. Lennox face lit up like a lamp when he recognised the familiar stranger.

"Well, I'll be damned! Kyoya!" He exclaimed. Kyoya smiled as he walked up to Lennox and placed him in a headlock before giving him a noogie. Lennox laughed as tried to escape Kyoya's grip while Dawn Sword watched with interest. Lennox managed to unwrap Kyoya's arm from around his neck. Kyoya then grabbed Lennox wrist as Lennox was still holding his arm and swiftly spun Lennox around, putting him into an armlock.

"You give?" He asked casually.

"Yes!" Cried, Lennox. Kyoya released Lennox from his grip and the two then fist bumped each other.

"Man, I thought I'd never see you until halfway through the school year!" Exclaimed Lennox.

"Yeah, well, my dad managed to sort things out with mum and I moved here to stay with him while she's deployed overseas" Kyoya explained. It was a difficult life for Kyoya. His mother worked in the military and he would constantly move back and forth from Heartland to Yokohama as his mother was based in Yokohama and he lived in Heartland. Whenever his mother left, he would move up to Heartland to stay with his dad and then return to Yokohama to reunite with his mum. His mother couldn't go to Heartland as it was a long trip and she needed to stay near Yokohama if she was called to action. His mother had recently been deployed overseas and now Kyoya had a chance to return to Heartland.

"She said that I need to stay here until I finish this school year and then it's back to Yokohama" Kyoya explained.

"That's great," said Lennox. "We'll be able to do loads of catching up."

"Cool. So who we waiting on now?" Kyoya asked.

"Basically everyone else," Lennox told him.

"Lennox!" A voice cried out. Both teens turned towards to park to see Ruby running towards them.

"Hi, Lennox. Hi…" Ruby began as she reached them, but struggled to come up with a name.

"Ruby, you remember Kyoya right?" Lennox asked.

"You mean the guy who used to bully me in first grade and then got teased for eating glue? Yeah, I remember" she said. Kyoya chuckled.

"Nice to see you haven't changed," he said.

"And nice to see you haven't improved either" Ruby shot back. She then smiled.

"Really though, it's nice to see you again," she told him.

"Likewise" Kyoya replied.

Not long after, Yuma and his friends arrived. They were all pleased to see their old friend.

"It's so good that you're finally back!" Yuma exclaimed as the pair fist bumped.

"I know, I know. Geez, everyone keeps saying that" Kyoya said. He then looked around. "Where the heck is Shark? That asshole owes me a duel" Kyoya asked. Kyoya didn't really have anything against Shark. When the two hung out, there was usually lots of banter and name calling between the pair of them. But the two did it in a friendly way. Yuma looked away at the mention of Shark. Kyoya then gave concerned expression. "Yuma…what happened?" He asked. Yuma sighed.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way" Yuma said as he began to walk off. The others soon followed.

* * *

The group had soon reached the school gates just as Yuma finished his story.

"And nobody at school has seen him since. It's like Shark just vanished like a ghost" Yuma finished. Lennox looked at him surprised.

"Wait, you didn't tell me he went missing," Lennox said. Yuma scratched the back of his head.

"Well, it only happened recently," Yuma told him. just then the first bell rung which signalled the students to head off the class.

"Class has started," Tetsuo said.

"Yeah, we'll catch up later," Kyoya said as he went to leave to head to the principal's office.

"See ya!" Lennox called as the group left Kyoya and headed to Professor Ukyo's classroom.

* * *

The day went by fast. It was both boring and entertaining as usual. Yuma had fallen over in the hallway while running for the cafeteria and had been chewed out by the Class Rep for his recklessness. That had been amusing to watch. Lennox had also taught Ruby a bit more about the game and she had stayed behind to witness Yuma's duel against Kyoya. Lennox was currently strolling around the streets of Heartland by himself. Ruby had called to ask if he wanted to go card shopping. It was about time for Ruby to get a deck of her own. This way, it would be much easier for her to be trained by Lennox rather than them using Lennox's bulk of cards he had stashed in his wardrobe. With her own deck, Ruby would be able to understand the game easier by understanding how her deck worked. Naturally, she wanted a Xyz oriented deck as they were all the rage these days. But she also wanted something that wasn't too flashy, just something that was her.

Lennox soon arrived at Ging's card shop. It had been a few days since the incident, the glass was and the door was fixed. As Lennox opened the door, he could see several kids in there, most of which were his age. It was a Thursday so several young duelists would come into Ging's shop to buy cards ready for any dueling events that took place on the weekend and Friday. As soon as Lennox stepped in Ging noticed him.

"Lennox! Nice to see you here!" Ging called out from behind the counter. A trio of boys younger than Lennox turned to see him walking up to the counter.

"Hi, Ging. Nice to see you up and running again" Lennox said.

"Yeah! I'm so glad they caught that guy. My money was returned and Heartland's company even paid for my shop to be fixed!" Ging explained happily.

"Wow, that's so good to hear" Lennox replied, thinking of his own encounter with Mr Heartland. "The usual?" Lennox then asked.

"The usual" Ging answered as he reached back and pulled out a booster pack. Lennox placed his money on the counter while the three boys watched the exchange. Lennox opened the pack and shuffled through the cards before sighing.

"Damn, none again. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep trying" Lennox said as he took out the cards he wanted to keep and pocketed them. He then held out the remaining cards to the three boys. "Do you want these?" Lennox asked them. "I have no room for them in my deck but I hate to see cards being wasted."

"Are you sure?" One of them finally asked.

"Of course. Just take them" Lennox replied. The boy was reluctant at first but then took the cards and began to look at them with his friends.

Ging smiled at the action that took place. He was happy there was a duelist such as Lennox that taught other duelists what the game was really about.

"Now listen here you three" Ging suddenly said to the boys. "That young man is one of the finest duelists you'll ever meet" Ging complimented. Lennox felt himself going red with embarrassment.

"Ging, stop it," he said sheepishly.

"He uses no Xyz monsters but can still give any Xyz user a run for his money" Ging continued.

The boy who Lennox gave the cards too stared at him in admiration.

"You really use no Xyz monsters?" He asked.

"Well I did have none before, but that's different now" Lennox explained as he reached into his extra deck box and pulled out the Xyz monster he got for Mr Heartland. Ging stared at the card before smiling.

"Well, it looks as it that wish of yours has finally been granted. You finally have a Xyz monster" he said.

"Yeah, it was given to me by someone" Lennox explained. He then turned to the boys. "So if you ever see me and want a duel, just ask," Lennox told them. The three boys nodded before Lennox turned back to Ging. "So, Ging? I need to ask you about a deck" Lennox said.

"What kind of deck?" Ging asked when the door was suddenly swung open with a loud crash.

The boy that stood in the doorway seemed to be a bit older than Lennox. He had light brown eyes with light blue hair that fell down to his neck and one wick of green hair falling over his forehead. His attire consisted of a short sleeved black jacket that was zipped up over a stripy green a white long-sleeved top. Along with that, he wore white trousers with red and black trainers. Ging glared at him.

"Excuse me young man, but that door has just been repaired. I would greatly appreciate it if it wasn't broken again" Ging told him sternly. The boy looked at him with cold eyes.

"Of course, my apologies," he said with a smile. Lennox didn't know what but there was something very off about this boy. The boy strode up to the counter and looked at the cards inside it.

"Excuse me," he asked. "But what are your rarest Xyz monsters?"

"You're looking at them," Ging told him. the boy looked down again at the cards in the glass counter.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ging asked him. The boy's attitude was starting to irritate him.

"Nothing really" the boy answered calmly. "Just window shopping." The boy continued to look at the cards before shrugging and walking out the store. Ging glared.

"That boy reeks of trouble" Ging commented before turning to Lennox. "So, you said something about a deck?"

* * *

Lennox soon left the store shortly after making arrangements with Ging about Ruby's deck. Ruby would be so pleased about this. He walked up the street to where Ruby would be walking to meet her. He looked up ahead to see the same strange boy from the store walking the same way. In front of him was Ruby who was busy on her D-Pad. The boy wasn't looking where he was going. Lennox was about to call out but it was too late. The pair walked into each other, knocking their things on the floor.

"Sorry" the boy apologised as he got up and held out his hand. "I should have watched where I was going" he continued.

"It's alright," Ruby said as she grabbed the boy's hand and he pulled her up. When he did, he didn't let go. Instead, he looked deep into her eyes. Ruby felt uncomfortable as the boy stared at her.

"Interesting," the boy said before letting go and walking off, leaving a confused Ruby behind.

Lennox soon caught up with her.

"Hey, Ruby. You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, that was…weird" Ruby said.

"You mean that boy?" Lennox asked.

"Yeah! He helped me up, looked me in the eyes, and said interesting before walking off" She explained rather annoyed.

"Okay then? Anyway, I spoke to Ging. He should have you deck by the weekend" Lennox explained. Ruby's eyes lit up.

"That's great!" She cheered. Finally, she could become a real duelist at long last.

"It will be much better to train you using a real deck with cards that work well together, rather than using random commons," Lennox said. Ruby nodded in agreement and held up her D-Pad.

"Here's a good card shop that's not too far from here. I was wondering if we could check it out" Ruby said.

"Sounds great" Lennox replied and the two took off together.

* * *

The two soon walked around the streets in the evening light. The pair of them had gotten lost but had soon found their way. As they rounded a corner, a man came rushing past them, bumping Lennox as he ran past.

"Hey! What's your deal man?!" Lennox yelled angrily.

"M-Monster!" The man cried in terror as he continued to run. Lennox's eyes widened as he knew exactly what this was. He ran off in the direction the man had come from with Ruby following. As they ran, they passed another man and a woman running the opposite way. Once they reached the next street they saw a woman on the ground with a strange humanoid creature that was made from some kind of red goo standing over her. The Duel Blood stared at her, fascinated while she looked up at it in fear.

"Hey!" Lennox yelled as he stopped. The Duel Blood looked up at him, giving the woman a chance to escape. She slowly wiggled out from underneath before getting on her legs and running away.

Ruby soon caught up as she stood by Lennox. She stared at the Duel Blood, now becoming afraid.

"Lennox, what is that?" She asked quietly, still staring at the creature.

"That's the Duel Blood I told you about" Lennox whispered to her. "It's dangerous, so stay back, I'll handle this," he said as he moved forward. The Duel Blood paid no attention to Lennox as it then rushed at Ruby. Lennox saw this and pushed Ruby out the way as the Duel Blood ran at her. It spun around and attempted to swipe at her, but Lennox knocked it's arm away, removing it from its body completely. The remains of the arm landed on the ground with a splat. It then moved over to the Duel Blood, being absorbed back into its body before another arm shot out. Lennox stood in front of Ruby, holding his arm out in front of her to signal to the Duel Blood to back off.

"Leave her" Lennox ordered. "She has nothing to do with this." He then reached into his extra deck and pulled out his two Numbers. "You want these? Don't you?" Lennox teased.

"N-N-Numbers" the Duel Blood finally spoke.

"That's right," Lennox said, his face now creeping up into a grin. "We'll duel for these." The Duel Blood walked back over to where it once stood, not taking its eyes off Lennox and Ruby. It raised its left arm and the goo moulded itself into a duel disk. 40 cards then slid out. The Duel Blood let out a grunt, signalling it was ready to fight. Lennox continued to grin as he reached for his D-Pad.

"Lennox? Are you sure this is wise?" Ruby said worriedly.

"Relax" Lennox replied confidently. "I've beaten this stuff before." Lennox then tossed his D-Pad into the air. the D-Pad changed into a duel disk before attaching to his wrist. Lennox got out his D-Gazer and placed it on his eye while the Duel Blood's single eye glowed. Ruby's eye then glowed as it connected with the AR system with Lennox and the Duel Blood.

 **AR VISON LINK ESTABLISHED**

 **DUEL!**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Duel Blood: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

"Turn. Draw" the Duel Blood said as it drew its first card.

 **TURN: 1**

 **Duel Blood: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"Activate continuous spell card, Spell Absorption" the Duel Blood announced. As soon as the card appeared on the field, Lennox gritted his teeth. He knew well enough what this spell did and how annoying it was.

"Now summon **Goo Shadow**." The familiar purple goo demon the rose onto the field out of a puddle of goo. It laughed creepily as it saw Lennox.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

" _Goo Shadow? Is it going for the same strategy as last time?"_ Lennox thought.

"Set two cards. Turn end" the Duel Blood finished.

 **Duel Blood: 4000**

 **Hand: 2**

" _It looks like it is. One of those facedowns must be Fear Instinct. But even so, I can't let up."_ Ruby could see the hard expression on Lennox's face. She was worried for her friend.

"My turn! Draw!" Lennox announced.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

 _"Even if one of those cards is Fear Instinct, I've got to start strong and hit hard," He thought._ He then picked out a card from his hand.

"I special summon Constellar Siat!" Lennox's monster was a small humanoid monster that, like the other Constellars, wore the same white armour and had a cape flowing in the wind. This monster, however, held a large pot above its head.

 **Constellar Siat: Level 1/LIGHT/Fairy/100 ATK/1600 DEF**

"I can summon him when you have a monster and I don't" Lennox explained. "I now normal summon Consteallar Pollux!" The next Constellar was a large warrior in white armour. The right side of his body was covered in the armour, only revealing his left eye. The left side of his body was covered in gold plating with spikes. Additional accessories were a cape that showed the stars and a large twin bladed sword.

 **Constellar Pollux: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1700 ATK/600 DEF**

"Now! Pollux gives me an extra normal summon! So I release Siat to summon Constellar Zubeneschamali!" Lennox announced. Siat the disappeared and another monster took its place. This monster was a strange one to look at. It had a circular shaped head with large green eyes and a large body too. Instead of proper arms, the monster had a pair of thin metal arms that attached to a large disk that had a green gem in the middle and long blades that acted as fingers.

 **Constellar Zubeneschamali: Level 5/LIGHT/Machine/2100 ATK/1400 DEF**

"Zubeneschamali's effect now lets me add one Constellar to my hand." A card then ejected out of Lennox's deck. "I add Constellar Kaus." The Duel Blood seemed to pay no mind to Lennox move. It stood there calmly, waiting. This made Lennox feel uneasy.

" _I know it's a trap, but I've got to attack to win this duel!"_ He thought.

"Battle! Zubeneschamali attack!" Lennox ordered. The machine charged forward, raising its bladed fingers.

"Activate trap, Mirror Force" the Duel Blood calmly said. To Lennox's horror, the infamous trap flipped face up.

"No way!" He cried. As Zubeneschamali continued to charge, a transparent rainbow barrier appeared in front of Goo Shadow. Zubeneschamali struck the barrier which shattered like glass. The glass shards the shot at Zubeneschamali, piercing through it and destroying it. The remaining shards then flew towards Pollux, destroying him too. Lennox stared in disbelief and mentally kicked himself for falling into such an obvious trap. "I set one card, turn end," Lennox growled.

"Activate continuous trap, Solemn Wishes" the Duel Blood responded.

"What?!" Lennox yelled. He hadn't been expecting that.

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

"Turn. Draw" the Duel Blood said as it drew. "Gain 500 life points due to Solemn Wishes." The trap glowed as the Duel Bloods life points increased.

 **TURN: 3**

 **Duel Blood: 4500**

 **Hand: 3**

"Attack with Goo Shadow!" It announced. The goo demon oozed over to Lennox and prepared to punch him.

"Sorry! No dice! Dimension Wall!" Retaliated Lennox. Before Goo Shadow could punch him, a portal opened in front of Lennox and Goo Shadows punch flew in. another portal opened in front of the Duel Blood and the fist flew out, hitting it. The Duel Blood growled slightly as it recovered from the hit.

 **Duel Blood: 4500 – 1400 = 3100**

"Set one card, turn end" it announced.

 **Duel Blood: 3100**

 **Hand: 2**

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. She had kept quiet throughout the duration of the duel so far, but she couldn't help but feel extremely worried for Lennox.

" _Lennox, please keep fighting."_

"My go now! Draw!" Lennox yelled.

 **TURN: 4**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

Lennox smiled once he saw what he drew.

" _Algiedi, good to see you. Duel Blood, prepare to feel the wrath of Dawn Sword"_ he thought confidently.

"I summon Constellar Algiedi!" Lennox's signature spellcaster soon appeared on the field, waving her staff.

 **Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/1600 ATK/1400 DEF**

"And now for her effect! So I can now summon another Constellar to the field! Welcome to the game, Kaus!" Algiedi's staff glowed blue as its comrade was summoned. The bow wielding centaur soon rose up onto the field with its bow ready.

 **Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF**

Ruby smiled when she saw the two monsters.

"Alright! It's Kaus! Now he can summon his number!" She cheered.

" _You got that right"_ Lennox thought with a smirk. "I activate Kaus' eff-"

"Activate continuous trap, **Forbidden Monster Seal** " the Duel Blood interrupted. Lennox stared at the card.

"Forbidden Monster Seal?" He echoed in confusion.

"Activate by declaring monster name" the Duel Blood explained. "Monster is sent to graveyard and all copies can no longer be used for duration of duel. Also, effects of monster cannot activate."

"WHAT?!" Shrieked Lennox. This thing knew his strategy. It was like it had learnt from last time and had prepared ahead so it could beat him.

"Declare Constellar Kaus." Lennox could only look in horror as one of his most trusted monsters was covered in a purple aura before being destroyed. Kaus screamed in pain, calling out to Algiedi who could only look on.

"No…Kaus" he breathed. He didn't know what, but he could feel a strange feeling in his chest.

"Lennox…?" Ruby asked.

"Battle!" Lennox roared. "Algiedi! Smash him to pieces!" Algidi wasted no time in slamming her staff into Goo Shadow. The monster cried out as it was vanquished.

 **Duel Blood: 3100 – 200 = 2900**

"Activate Goo Shadow effect. When destroyed, summon Goo Shadow from deck with 0 attack and defence." Another Goo Shadow rose from the ground lighting while its stats dropped to zero.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/0 ATK (Originally 1400)/0 DEF (Originally 1200)**

"I end my turn" growled Lennox.

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 2**

" _I can understand why he would be so angry. Kaus was his first monster. Seeing it in pain like that would surely upset him"_ Ruby though. She wanted to say something to him but didn't want to provoke his anger even further. She decided to just keep her mouth shut.

"Turn. Draw" the Duel Blood said. "Gain 500 life points due to Solemn Wishes."

 **TURN: 5**

 **Duel Blood: 3400**

 **Hand: 3**

"Now must pay maintenance cost of Forbidden Monster Seal" the Duel Blood explained. Lennox looked at it confused. A dark aura surrounded it. "Pay 1000 life points." The Duel Blood seemed to wince in pain as its life was taken away.

 **Duel Blood: 3400 – 1000 = 2400**

" _I see. As long as it has that card on the field, it'll have to keep paying life points. All I have to do is reduce its life enough"_ Lennox though.

"Activate Pot Of Desires," the Duel Blood said. "Banish 10 cards from top of deck to draw two cards." The Duel Blood then grabbed a chunk of cards from the top of its deck. The cards then vanished, leaving Lennox dumbfounded.

" _No way! It got rid of that many cards just to draw more?"_ he thought. The Duel Blood then drew two cards.

"Due to Spell Absorption and Solemn Wishes, life points will increase." Lennox gritted his teeth as the Duel Bloods life rose to what it was before.

 **Duel Blood: 2400 + 1000 = 3400**

"Special summon Goo Shadow," the Duel Blood said. Another copy of the goo demon then rose of the field with an eerie laugh.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

"How?" Asked Lennox confused. It didn't do this in his last duel.

"If control level 4 monster, Goo Shadow can be special summoned" the Duel Blood explained. It then raised its hand. "Now release Goo Shadow." The goo demon the disappeared. "Tribute summon, **Goo Shade**." Lennox blinked. He rubbed his free eye once. He could swear that he could see the monster there, but it felt like he couldn't see it. From what he could he could see, this new Goo monster was purple like Goo Shadow, but had a much simpler design. Its body was humanoid and made from goo. Its body then began to ripple like water. It was only when the monster's stats were displayed that Lennox could conclude the monster was there.

 **Goo Shade: Level 5/DARK/Aqua/2000 ATK/1800 DEF**

"Activate Goo Shade's effect" announced the Duel Blood. "Goo monsters become level 5."

"No way!" Cried Lennox as he then saw the monsters level increase.

 **Goo Shadow Level: 4 – 5**

"Overlay, Level 5 Goo Shadow and Goo Shade." The two monsters then turned into purple streams of energy. Lennox prepared himself for the worst as the two monsters flew up into the air. "Construct overlay network with two monsters," the Duel Blood said as a red portal opened at its feet and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Appear! **DB – Angel**!" What came out of the portal was defiantly no angel. This monster was female and grey robes that were a bit _too_ revealing. Its remaining wing was also black, to show how it had fallen from grace. What was most disturbing about the monster is the fact that parts of her body had been replaced by red goo. One of its wings was made from the stuff, its left arm, and blotches all over its body.

 **DB – Angel: Rank 5/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2400 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Attack Algiedi!" The Duel Blood ordered. DB – Angel raised her goo covered arm and a blast of red goo shot out at Algiedi, melting her into nothing.

 **Lennox: 4000 – 800 = 3200**

"Now activate DB – Angel effect. Detach overlay unit to increase life by destroyed monsters attack points" the Duel Blood explained. Angel absorbed one overlay unit into her chest. A red light washed over the Duel Blood s its life was restored.

 **Angel Overlay Units: 1**

 **Duel Blood: 3400 + 1600 = 5000**

"End turn" it finished.

 **Duel Blood: 5000**

 **Hand: 2**

Lennox suddenly felt nervous as he placed his hand on top of his deck.

" _What? Am…Am I shaking?"_ He thought as he could see his hand slightly trembling. He shook his head. _"No! Get a grip, Lennox!"_ He told himself. _"You've still got another Number other than Dawn Sword."_ Strangely, Dawn Sword had kept quiet throughout the entire duel. This worried Lennox slightly.

"My turn, Draw!"

 **TURN: 6**

 **Lennox: 3200**

 **Hand: 3**

Lennox smiled once he saw his mother's card. Hope For Escape could help him in a situation like this. Since the Duel Blood continuously increased its life points, he'd be able to draw several cards. First, he'd have to wait.

"I set a monster and one card facedown, that's all from me," he said.

 **Lennox: 3200**

 **Hand: 1**

Ruby looked at his field. Was that really all he could do now?

"Come on Lennox! Don't give up!" She cheered. She thought the extra support from her would help increase his confidence. Lennox looked back at her and smiled. She had done her job perfectly. He then turned back to the Duel Blood and prepared for its assault.

"Turn. Draw" it said and Solemn Wishes activated.

 **TURN: 7**

 **Duel Blood: 5500**

 **Hand: 3**

"During standby phase, must pay maintenance cost of Forbidden Monster Seal." The dark aura appeared once again and sapped away the Duel Blood's life.

 **Duel Blood: 5500 – 1000 = 4500**

"Set one card facedown. DB -Angel attacks set monster!" It said. Angel fired another goo blast from her hand and Lennox's monster revealed itself to be Satellarknight Vega.

 **Satellarknight Vega: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1200 ATK/1600 DEF**

Vega cried out in pain as it melted away while Lennox and Ruby watched in disgust.

"Active DB – Angel's effect. Detach overlay unit to restore life points equal to destroyed monster's attack points.

 **Angel Overlay Units: 0**

 **Duel Blood: 4500 + 1200 = 5700**

"Turn end" the Duel Blood finished.

"Hold it! I play Hope For Escape!" Lennox called out. The trap flipped itself face up, surprising the Duel Blood. "I pay 1000 life points…" Lennox started as lightning crackled over his body. "And draw cards equal to the difference in our life points for every 1000 points."

 **Lennox: 3200 – 1000 = 2200**

"The difference in our life is 3500 points, so I draw 3 cards!" Lennox said as he drew.

"Alright! He refilled his hand!" Ruby cheered. Maybe Lennox was right. Maybe he could defeat this thing by himself. After all, he did beat the thief the other day.

 **Duel Blood: 5700**

 **Hand: 2**

"My turn, Draw!" Lennox announced.

 **TURN: 8**

 **Lennox: 2200**

 **Hand: 5**

"I activate **Ray Of Hope**!" Lennox yelled as the card augmented into life. "Now I banish one light monster from my grave to add another with a different name but same level! I banish Kaus to add Algiedi!" The cards ejected themselves from Lennox graveyard. Lennox pocketed Kaus while he added Algiedi to his hand.

 **Duel Blood: 5700 + 500 = 6200**

 _"I may not be able to summon Dawn Sword, but I can summon something else,"_ Lennox thought as he eyed another card in his hand. "I summon Constellar Algiedi!" The white armoured spellcaster rose onto the field once again.

 **Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/1600 ATK/1400 DEF**

"Now I use her effect to summon another Constellar from my hand" Lennox yelled as he slapped another card on his duel disk. "I summon Constellar Acubens!" The familiar white armoured, pincer welding machine rose onto the field, glaring at Lennox's opponent.

 **Constellar Acubens: Level 4/LIGHT/Machine/800 ATK/2000 DEF**

"Now for his effect! So all my Constellars gain 500 attack points!" Both monsters glowed gold as their attack power rose.

 **Algiedi ATK: 1600 + 500 = 2100**

 **Acubens ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300**

Ruby then noticed both monster's levels.

"He's got two level fours. Is he going to…?" Her thoughts were proven correct when Lennox raised his hand.

"I overlay my level 4 Constellar Algiedi and Acubens!" Announced Lennox. Both monsters turned into yellow streams of energy and shot into the air. A golden galactic portal opened at Lennox's feet. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" The two monsters sailed in and a burst of golden light shortly followed. "Xyz summon! Come forth beast go good fortune! Number 52: Diamond Crab King!" Out of the portal rose the Number's sealed form, a hunk of shining crystals. The hunk then grew, the crystals becoming large shining pillars. The monsters blue body crawled out from underneath and gave an ear piercing cry, the Number 52 glowing brightly on its claw.

 **Number 52: Diamond Crab King: Rank 4/EARTH/Rock/Xyz/0 ATK/3000 DEF/2 Overlay Units**

"Alright! Crab King!" Ruby cheered. Now Lennox had a chance to turn things around. The Duel Blood seemed to be unfazed by the appearance of the Number.

"I activate Crab King's effect!" Announced Lennox as Crab King absorbed one of its overlay units into its crystals, now giving off a bright glow. "It's attack and defence points will now switch!" Lennox explained. Ruby was smiling.

 _"Its attack power will be 3000, more than enough to defeat that angel,"_ she thought.

"Activate continuous trap," the Duel Blood said, crushing the teen's confidence.

"No!" Yelled Lennox as he saw what the card was.

"Fiendish Chain will negate monster's effects and prevent it from attacking" the Duel Blood explained to them. Dark chains then shot out the trap and ensnared Crab King. Crab King groaned in pain as the glow from its crystals died down. Lennox looked at Crab King in horror while the Number glared at him.

"And to think" Crab King finally spoke. "That you were the human that managed to beat me, how sad and pathetic you are." Lennox was hurt and confused.

"Wha? I-I…" he began but was silenced by the Number.

"Quiet you foolish mortal! You know my words are true!" The Number roared his words like poison. "You have failed in every stage of this duel! You have not learned from your past mistakes! You make foolish moves and don't properly think before acting in the duel." Lennox stood there frozen. He had no idea how to respond. You are predictable and weak! No wonder that human you spoke of earlier has more Numbers. You don't deserve to wield a powerful Number like Dawn Sword." The last sentence shattered him. Was the Number, right? Was he a fool. No! he could be! How couldn't he a beat the Duel Blood before? But then again, he would have lost if not for Dawn Sword.

"Master! Do not listen to that arrogant fool!" Dawn Sword suddenly spoke up. "You are worthy to have me! While you do have your flaws, you can learn from them and look past them!"

"So you agree with Crab King right?" Lennox said coldly. Dawn Sword then realised his words might not have been the best choice.

"Ha! Even the loyal weapon agrees with me!" Laughed Crab King.

"You shut up!" Dawn Sword yelled.

"No wonder you failed to save your old master you disappointment for a Number!" Crab King spat. This enraged Dawn Sword.

"You dare speak of my old master that way!" Dawn Sword roared. His memories had mostly come back and he remembered his old master dearly. Though he was a failure of a weapon, his old master never did treat him with one. He was treated with respect and kindness. Hearing his master being mentioned like that infuriated him. That walking pile or rock knew nothing! "When I have the chance, I will surely enjoy tearing off those precious crystals one by one!" He fumed. Crab King was about to retort when he was interrupted by Lennox.

"Shut up the pair of you! I don't care anymore!"

Unbeknownst to anyone, Ruby had heard the whole exchange and felt terrible for Lennox.

"Don't listen to them, Lennox! You are a great person! Regardless of what anyone says!" It broke Ruby's heart when she saw Lennox lower his head and place a card on his duel disk, signalling he was ignoring her. He was done with it all.

"I set a card and end my turn" Lennox simply said as the set card appeared on his field.

 **Lennox: 2200**

 **Hand: 2**

The Duel Blood began its turn instantly.

"Turn. Draw" it said as it drew.

 **TURN: 9**

 **Duel Blood: 6700**

 **Hand: 3**

"Summon **Goo Phantom** " it announced. The monster was humanoid like all its predecessors and made from purple goo that was so dark it almost looked black. Unlike the others, this monster had no legs, it hovered in the air with a small serpent like tail. The monster's face was covered by the sheer amount of goo that was dripping off its head and onto the floor. All Lennox could make out was a pair of glowing red eyes.

 **Goo Phantom: Level 3/DARK/Aqua/800 ATK/600 DEF**

"Activate Goo Phantom effect" the Duel Blood began. "Revive Goo monster as level three monster. Revive! Goo Shadow!" The graveyard portal opened up and Goo Shadow rose out with its level dropping by 1.

 **Goo Shadow: Level 3 (Originally 4)/DARK/Aqua/0 ATK (Originally 1400)/0 DEF (Originally 1200)**

Lennox stared at the monsters in disbelief.

"No way…" He muttered.

"Overlay level 3 Goo Shadow and Goo Phantom," the Duel Blood said. The two monsters turned purple and shot up into the air as streams of energy. "Construct overlay network with two monsters." A portal opened up in front of the Duel Blood and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Appear! **DB – Hellhound**!" Out of the portal rose a large dog with grey fur. All over its body, it had bones sticking out of it and red goo littered its body, covering several parts. Its maw was the most terrifying as it was filled with rows of sharp teeth and had red goo oozing down the sides. Its eyes were completely white and it gave a soul shaking howl as it entered the battle.

 **DB – Hellhound: Rank 3/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/1400 ATK/1200 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

Lennox gave a fearful look at the monster. He had never seen something so terrifying in his life.

"DB – Angel attacks Diamond Crab King," the Duel Blood said suddenly, surprising Lennox slightly. Angel raised her hand at Crab King but Lennox was ready for it.

"Trap activate! Dimensional Prison!" As soon as the card flipped up a portal opened in front of DB – Angel. She struggled to keep her footing but was eventually overcome by the strong force that sucked her in. "Now your monster is banished!" Yelled Lennox as the portal disappeared with DB – Angel. The Duel Blood didn't seem to care.

"DB – Hellhound attacks Diamond Crab King" it continued like nothing had ever happened. The demonic dog ran at Crab King and sank its teeth into the hard rock which made the monster's crystals.

 _"Because it's effect was negated by Fiendish Chain…it can be destroyed by a non-Number!"_ Lennox suddenly thought as Crab King finally gave up and was destroyed.

 **Lennox: 2200 – 1400 = 800**

"You stupid mortal!" Fumed Crab King. "It is your fault we're losing! If you had actually focused and had seen that your opponent had played a trap, we would be in this mess!" Lennox looked at the monster spirit that was next to him. "If you had played me in defence mode then this would be a much better situation! But no! all you are is pathetic and useless! I can't believe I lost to a flimsy mortal like you!" Lennox didn't want to admit it, but the monster's words were starting to get to him. Crab King then became very fearful. "Ahhh! I can't go back!" He began to panic. "I've only just been freed and I don't want to be sealed up again and used as lock!" He turned to Lennox again and began to hurl insults. Dawn Sword looked on in horror. He tried to defend Lennox but Crab King was determined for his voice to be heard.

Lennox then fell to his knees.

"Maybe Crab King is right. Maybe I'm just full of fucking flaws. I lost mom, I'm too scared to enter tournaments. Hell! I'm even fucking shaking now" Lennox was on the verge of tears. "I should have listened to Shino, I should have just went on with my normal life. I stood no chance. The only reason I beat it the first time was because mom helped me." Lennox was so busy doubting himself that he didn't notice the person standing above him. Ruby gasped when she saw him.

"Well this is sad, even for you," said the person. Lennox looked up and his eyes widened when he saw who it was.

"Shark?"

 _Cards made by other authors_

OPFan37

 **Goo Shadow: Level 4/DARK/Aqua/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

 _Effect: If you control a level 4 monster, you can special summon this card from your hand. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon one 'Goo Shadow' from your deck with its ATK and DEF reduced to 0._

 _Author made cards_

 **Forbidden Monster Seal**

 _Continuous Trap_

 _Effect: Active by declaring one monster name. Send all face-up cards with that name to the graveyard. As long as this card remains face up, both players cannot play cards with the same name and all cards with the same name cannot activate their effects and their effects are negated. During your standby phase, pay 1000 life points or destroy this card. You can only control one face up Forbidden Monster Seal._

 **Goo Shade: Level 5/DARK/Aqua/2000 ATK/1800 DEF**

 _Effect: When this card is summoned, you can declare a level between 1 and 8; all face up 'Goo' monsters you control become that level. For the rest of the turn, you can only summon Xyz monsters._

 **DB – Angel: Rank 5/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2400 ATK/1800 DEF/**

 _Effect: 2 level 5 monsters_

 _When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card, gain life points equal to the destroyed monsters attack points. During the end phase, if this card was destroyed by battle this turn, you can special summon this card from your graveyard. You can only use this effect of 'DB – Angel' once per turn._

 **Ray Of Hope**

 _Spell_

 _Effect: Banish one level 4 or lower light attribute monster from your Graveyard; add one light attribute monster from your graveyard to your hand with the same level. You can only active one Ray Of Hope once per turn._

 **Goo Phantom: Level 3/DARK/Aqua/800 ATK/600 DEF**

 _Effect: When this card is normal summoned, special summon one 'Goo' monster from your hand or graveyard but its attack and defence points become 0. After; apply one of the following effects:_

 _This card's level becomes equal to the summoned monsters.  
_

 _The summoned monsters level becomes equal to this cards.  
_

 **DB – Hellhound: Rank 3/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

 _Effect: 2 level 3 monsters_

 _Once per turn, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card, this card can attack your opponent directly this turn. During the end phase, if this card was destroyed by battle this turn, you can special summon this card from your graveyard. You can only use this effect of 'DB – Hellhound' once per turn._

* * *

 **Damn, am I glad to get this out of the way. The duel was such a pain to write. But it's finally over. So Lennox has fought the Duel Blood and now Shark has entered the fray. Just a quick heads up. The next few chapters will contain a lot of Shark, trust me. But after that, the plot will soon begin to take off,** _ **Finally!**_ **Anyway if you enjoyed this chapter then leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: All Out Assault

Lennox couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Shark standing above him. why was he here? He had been missing for a few days and had decided to show up now?

"What are you doing here Shark?" Lennox finally managed to choke out.

"Saving your sorry ass, that's what" Shark simply replied as he stood in front of Lennox. Lennox only stared as Shark got out his D-Pad. "Hey!" Shark called out to the Duel Blood. "I'm taking over for this guy alright! If you win, you get my Numbers too!" The Duel Blood looked intrigued and Lennox raised an eyebrow.

" _Shark has Numbers?"_ He thought.

"Accepted" the Duel Blood agreed. Shark grinned as he then tossed up his D-Pad that began to change into a duel disk. It attached to his wrist and he placed on his D-Gazer with a determined smile.

 **Current Status of Duel:**

 **Shark: 800**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Duel Blood: 6700**

 **Hand: 2**

* * *

 **Shark Field:**

 **No monsters**

 **No active or set spell or traps**

* * *

 **Duel Blood Field:**

 **DB – Hellhound: Rank 3/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/1400 ATK/1200 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

 **Solemn Wishes, Forbidden Monster Seal and Spell Absorption**

"Turn end," the Duel Blood said. It had just finished its battle phase and appeared to have nothing else to play.

 **Duel Blood: 6700**

 **Hand: 2**

"My turn! Draw!" Shark roared as he drew. This was good as Shark had a fresh and a better strategy.

 **TURN: 10**

 **Shark: 800**

 **Hand: 6**

"First I play Twin Twisters! Now by discarding a card, I can destroy two spell or traps!" Shark yelled. "I discard Big Jaws!" He declared, slipping the card into the graveyard. Lennox was confused by this.

" _Why would he get rid of Big Jaws? It's one of his strongest monsters."_

 **Duel Blood: 6700 + 500 = 7200**

Shark grunted when he saw the Duel Bloods Life points increase.

"Choose," the Duel Blood said.

"That should be obvious" Shark sweat dropped. Two tornados then shot out of the card and crushed both Spell Absorption and Solemn Wishes.

"Now you can't gain any more life points" Shark stated proudly. This was exactly what Lennox needed when he fought the Duel Blood. "Now I summon Hammer Shark!" A vortex of water soon appeared on the field and out swam a hammerhead shark with a hammer literally for a head. It banged the hammer once on the ground as it took the field.

 **Hammer Shark: Level 4/WATER/Fish/1700 ATK/1500 DEF**

"Now for its effect!" Announced Shark. "I lower its level by one to summon a level three or below water monster from my hand." He picked out another card. "I summon **Bomber Angler**!" The monster that appeared was a large dark blue angler fish that had a gruesome expression. Instead of a light dangling from it, it had a circular black bomb that was just waiting to be detonated.

 **Bomber Angler: Level 3/WATER/Fish/800 ATK/1400 DEF**

"Shark's got two level three monsters" Ruby noted. Lennox then realised this too.

"I overlay Bomber Angler and Hammer Shark!" Both monsters turned into blue streams of energy and shot into the air. "With These two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark announced as a red spiral portal opened at his feet and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! **Savage Shark**!" Out of the portal shot a column of water. In the water appeared to be something swimming in it. The water then dispersed at the creature's roar and it was then revealed. This Shark was huge. It was dark blue with a yellow underbelly and red eyes. Along with that, it had a pair of small spikes on each petrol fin and cuts and cuts and marks all over its body. It let out a roar so ferocious that it even frightened DB – Hellhound.

 **Savage Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/2000 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"I now use Savage Shark's effect!" Declared Shark as the creature absorbed one of its overlay units.

 **Savage Shark Overlay Units: 1**

"Now by banishing one water attribute monster from my graveyard, Savage Shark can drain its attack points!"

" _So that's why he ditched Big Jaws!"_ Lennox thought suddenly.

The graveyard portal opened and out rose Sharks signature steel-mouthed monster: Big Jaws. No sooner had the portal closed, Savage Shark attacked Big Jaws. The monster began tearing its prey to pieces. It was so gruesome that Lennox and Ruby had to look away. Once it was all over and Savage Shark was satisfied, a blue aura glowed around it which displayed its massive power gain.

 **Savage Shark ATK: 2000 + 1800 = 3800**

"Now for Bomber Angler's effect!" Shark yelled as the monster in question rose out of the graveyard portal in front of the Duel Blood. "When it's sent to the graveyard it hits you for 800 points." The bomb attached to the deep-sea fish suddenly exploded, knocking the Duel Blood back.

 **Duel Blood: 7200 – 800 = 6400**

"Savage Shark! Attack DB – Hellhound!" Shark ordered. Savage Shark then set its sight on its new prey and shot forward at Hellhound. It opened its mouth to reveal the dozens of razor-sharp teeth used for tearing away at flesh. With one single bit, Hellhound was no more.

 **Duel Blood: 6400 – 2400 = 4000**

Shark smiled as the Duel Blood recovered. He had done more damage to it in one turn that Lennox could probably deal in the entire duel. Lennox and Ruby stared in amazement. Ruby now could defiantly say that Shark lived up to his name. For Lennox, this was surprising as he had seen Shark duel before but never had known he was this good.

"I set one card and end my turn" Shark finished as the card appeared on the field.

 **Shark: 800**

 **Hand: 1**

"End phase. Effect of DB – Hellhound activates. Revives itself" the Duel Blood explained as the demonic hound rose up onto the field once more.

"How annoying" Shark commented. Lennox stared at him. Shark was so calm in this ordeal. He thought ahead and attacked so aggressively and securing himself a field advantage, something which Lennox failed to do.

"Turn. Draw" the Duel Blood started.

 **TURN: 11**

 **Duel Blood: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

"During standby phase, pay cost for Forbidden Monster Seal." The dark trap once again sapped away the Duel Blood life. At this point, it had become dead weight.

 **Duel Blood: 4000 – 1000 = 3000**

"Activate Overlay Regen. Card becomes overlay unit for monster." The spell soon turned into a purple overlay unit that began to orbit around Hellhound.

 **Hellhound Overlay Unit: 1**

"Activate Hellhound effect! Detach overlay unit to attack directly!" The hound chomped down on the overlay unit and prepared itself to attack.

 **Hellhound Overlay Unit: 0**

"DB – Hellhound attacks directly!" The Duel Blood ordered. Hellhound then ran at Shark before leaping into the air, opening its jaws.

"Oh no! If this goes through, then Shark will lose!" Ruby cried out. Shark just smiled.

"Nice job ignoring my set card!" He taunted as the card flipped face up. "I activate my trap! Poseidon Wave!" A silhouetted figure holding a gold staff with green gem in the middle rose onto the field. The figure pointed its staff forward and wave of water soon rose up and slammed into Hellhound, knocking it back.

"Poseidon Wave negates you attack and that's not all" Shark began to explain to the Duel Blood. "…it inflicts 800 points of damage to you for every Fish, Sea Serpent and Aqua monster I control. Since I have Savage Shark, that's 800 points." The water soon slammed into the Duel Blood and knocked it back a bit further.

 **Duel Blood: 3000 – 800 = 2200**

"Turn end" was all it said.

 **Duel Blood: 2200**

 **Hand: 2**

Shark drew his card silently while Lennox and Ruby looked on in admiration.

 **TURN: 12**

 **Shark: 800**

 **Hand: 2**

"First, Savage Sharks attack power will return to normal" Shark said. The blue aura around the shark disappeared.

 **Savage Shark ATK: 3800 – 1800 = 2000**

"Now I use Savage Shark's effect again!" Shark yelled as the shark absorbed another overlay unit.

 **Savage Shark Overlay Units: 0**

"This time I banish Hammer Shark!" The graveyard portal opened once again, but this time the hammer headed shark rose out, only become Savage Shark's prey. After the shark had finished feasting once again, the blue aura returned along with Savage Shark's power.

 **Savage Shark ATK: 2000 + 1700 = 3700**

"Time to end this. Savage Shark! Attack Hellhound!" Savage Shark wasted no time in gorging into Hellhound once again. The hound disappeared once again in an explosion of gold particles which sent the Duel Blood flying, wiping it out of existence.

 **Duel Blood: 2200 – 2300 = 0**

 **Duel Blood: LOSE**

The holograms disappeared and Shark took off his D-Gazer and duel disk. He walked over to where the Duel Blood had once been, seeing DB – Hunter and DB Angel on the floor. All of a sudden, the two cards turned into red goo and oozed off, with Shark giving the same reaction Lennox had given when it had happened to him. Shark then turned back and walked over to Lennox who was still on the floor.

"You were having trouble with that thing?" He asked. Lennox slowly got on his feet. "That was by far the most pathetic thing I ever crushed," Shark said, boasting slightly. "I thought you were better than that." And with that, he went to walk off.

"Shark! You don't understand! Those things play for keeps" Lennox protested.

"Excuses!" Shark yelled, suddenly whipping around. "That should only mean you fight harder! But all you do is stand there and mope when you start to lose! Weak!" Anger then began to well up inside Lennox.

"Where the hell do you think you get off!" He yelled. "You act like a complete ass to us and then fuck off, leaving us to worry! Now you come back and help me, only to then start hurling insults at me!" He was livid now. he had had enough of it all. "I have been through enough stress already and do not need you making it worse!" Shark looked hurt slightly.

"At least I'm doing something! All you're doing is moping once the tide turns in your opponent's favour! That isn't the Lennox I know!" He yelled. This hit Lennox like a brick wall. It was true. He hated it. Most of the time he was fine when he was winning. When he was losing like recently, he acted as a sore loser, getting upset over it. His mind brought him back a few years ago.

 _Flashback_

" _Ha! There's no way you can beat me now Rio!" A younger Lennox yelled. On his field, stood Kaus and Algiedi. Rio only had Aurora Wing._

 _"Really now? let's just see!" She replied. Kyoya and Shark watched on, smiling. Two turns later and Lennox had won. Blizzard Falcon and been the key to Rio's victory but Lennox had shut that down.  
_

" _Looks like I was right! You should have just given up!" Lennox called. Rio walked over to him._

" _So? I could have gotten a better card and won" she answered._

" _But you didn't" Lennox replied._

" _So? I have to at least try" Rio spoke. "There's no point in giving up as that would only show how weak you are. Kazuma said that a true duelist never gives up until the very end, remember?" Lennox then recalled the words of Yuma's father, Kazuma. He was the one that inspired them in the first place._

" _Maybe you're right…" He trailed off._

 _Flashback End_

That was years ago, however, his anger subsided.

"When I lost to Yuma I didn't mope about. I picked myself up, dusted myself off and decided what I would do next" Shark went on. "You need to do the same."

Lennox looked at him. Shark then turned and walked off. "Do as you wish, I don't really care."

"Wait Shark! At least answer this: Where have you

been?" Lennox said. Shark stopped.

"Burying my past," he said without turning around and then continued on.

"Well then…is it true you have a Number?" Lennox then asked. Shark then stopped again.

"No, it was bait to get that thing to accept my challenge. I saw it wanted your Numbers so I decided to use that. As for this whole Number thing, that is your problem. Not. Mine." He told Lennox and then walked off. Lennox only watched.

Ruby soon walked up to him.

"Lennox, are you okay?" She asked innocently.

"I don't know Ruby" he sighed and began to walk in the opposite direction of Shark. Ruby paused briefly and looked at where the Duel Blood had once been. She then took off after Lennox.

* * *

Lennox was soon walking down the street with Ruby. The two walked in absolute silence until Ruby finally spoke.

"He's right you know." Lennox stopped and looked at her.

"There is really no point giving up before the end result. I thought that would be one of the first things you taught me" she said. Lennox said nothing.

"Well come on!" Ruby yelled at him. "What are you gonna do?!"

"I don't know!" Lennox suddenly yelled, causing Ruby to recoil.

"I just don't know," he said. He then looked at Ruby.

"I'm just so confused. You're like two people. One minute you're fine. The next you seem like you want to bawl your eyes out" Ruby told him. "Please just tell me what's wrong."

This was the breaking point that pushed Lennox over the edge. He fell to his knees.

"Ok! I'm scared! Ok?!" He yelled. Ruby looked at him.

"Scared?" She quizzed.

"Yes! Ever since I lost mum I've been afraid. I'm scared of losing dad and Amy to that illness. This whole Numbers thing makes it worse. I'm scared one of you guys will get possessed or hurt. What if I can't save you?" He finally admitted.

"But we'll be fine!" Ruby protested. "Yuma beat Shark! I'm sure that proves his safety enough. And Kyoya is amazingly strong! He's fine. The others aren't dumb. They know how to look after themselves" Ruby said trying to calm Lennox.

It didn't work.

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" He suddenly yelled, tears rolling down his eyes. "Why could _she_ have been saved then! This is why I do this! So no one I care about will ever get hurt again!" It finally dawned on Ruby. Lennox's mother's death had affected him more than she or anyone had realised. Lennox then got up and ran down the street.

"Lennox! Wait!" Ruby called out and tried to run after him. this was all in vain as Lennox was too far gone.

"Oh Lennox," she said.

* * *

Lennox tore through the streets, not caring who he bumped into or where he was going. He just hated it all.

" _Master, where are you going?"_ Dawn Sword asked in his head.

" _Shut up! Shut up! Just leave me alone!"_ Lennox yelled in his mind. He didn't know why he was there, but it felt the most comfortable place to be. He soon sat down on a bench at the park he always went to with his mum. He could feel the tears were coming back. He tried to push the pain away but it kept coming back. He hated it. Hit hurt him too much. He began to cry silently, not wanting to show his pain.

"Lennox?" A voice asked. Lennox looked up to see Tetsuo looking at him with a concerned expression.

"Tetsuo? What are you doing here?" Lennox asked.

"I was just at the doughnut shop with Yuma and the others when I needed to quickly get something from a shop across the park. I then found you here" Tetsuo explained. He looked at Lennox kindly.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's nothing" replied Lennox. Tetsuo then sat down next to him.

"Come on. Something is obviously wrong. Just tell me, we're friends" Tetsuo told him. Lennox took in a deep breath and began.

"I almost lost a duel" he simply said.

"And?" Tetsuo asked. "There's got to be more than that."

"I-I had to win…at all costs. If I didn't then this _thing_ I fought could have hurt you guys. I didn't want to see that happen" Lennox explained.

"Wait? What thing? And why would it hurt us?" Tetsuo quizzed. He was so confused. He could see the struggle on Lennox's face. He really didn't want to tell him.

"This thing I fought is dangerous. It can hurt people really badly, I've seen it" Lennox told Tetsuo, remembering how it went to attack Ruby. "When it duelled me, I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to protect you guys. I just don't want to see anyone I care about get hurt."

Tetsuo then hugged him, surprising Lennox.

"You idiot, why would you ever think that," Tetsuo told him. "We're all friends that look after each other and look out for one another. We don't fight battles alone, we fight them together." Lennox hugged back and then laughed.

"Heh, you must think I'm a huge idiot now," Lennox said. Tetsuo gave a small laugh.

"Far from it. You were just being a true friend and trying to help, but next time if you need help, then don't be afraid to admit it."

"Sure" Lennox replied as Tetsuo got up.

"I'm heading back to the doughnut shop, want to come?" He asked. Lennox waved his hand dismissingly.

"Nah, I'm just going to head home," he said. "Don't tell the others please." Tetsuo smiled at him.

"I won't. but if you need help then just tell us and we'll jump right in. you don't have to fight alone. See ya!" And with that, Tetsuo was off. Lennox smiled as he remained there on the bench.

* * *

The next day, Lennox left the house feeling a bit better. He had apologised to Dawn Sword the night before who had accepted his apology and decided to move on. He just had one more person to apologise to. He soon met Ruby at the cross roads who was waiting for the others. Thankfully, she was alone.

"Ruby," he said as he walked up to her. She turned to him. "I'm sorry about-" he began but was stopped by a slap in the face.

"You idiot! I was worried sick!" She yelled, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Lennox rubbed his cheek.

"I had no idea where you went yesterday and couldn't find you!" Lennox stared at her. "Like it or not, we're all involved in this and you're just going to have to deal with that! So stop pushing us out!" Lennox couldn't bring the words to come out of his mouth. He was frozen.

He then hugged her.

"I'm sorry. I just can't take it when people I know get hurt, I just hate it" he told her. He then broke off the hug. "I won't keep you guys out anymore." Ruby smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said as she wiped her eyes. Just then, the others arrived. Lennox put on a smile as they all headed off to school.

* * *

The rest of the day went on better than Lennox had expected. True to his word, Tetsuo had kept quiet throughout the whole day and often would see if Lennox was ok. Lennox assured him that he was fine. The day was finally done as Lennox was now walking home with Ruby.

"Today went better than I thought," he said quietly.

"Yeah" Ruby replied. "You seem better than you were yesterday." Lennox nodded. Just then, the pair heard some frantic yelling. The two looked over to see Shark chasing a man onto one of the upper levels. Lennox then realised something.

" _Shark knows something about the Numbers! He obviously knew when he mentioned them yesterday. I think I'd rather ask him than Yuma since Yuma wants mine and Shark doesn't"_ Lennox thought.

"Come on!" He said to Ruby as he began to run.

"Hey! Wait!" Ruby called before sighing. "Why must we run everywhere?"

The two managed to catch up to Shark and watched him dash into an alleyway. By the time they reached the alleyway Shark already had the man on the ground in an arm lock.

"Ok! Talk!" Shark roared.

"You ain't getting shit outta me Shark!" The man spat.

"Wrong answer!" Shark yelled and tightened the lock, causing the man to yelp in pain.

"Shark! What are you doing?!" Yelled Lennox.

"Getting information!" Shark yelled back.

"Wait…is this what you meant by burying your past?" Lennox asked.

"Yes! Now buzz off!" Shark answered and turned back to the man. "Talk! Where is he!"

"Fuck off!" The man replied. Shark tightened the lock once more.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" Ruby yelled.

"That's the whole point," Shark said. "You can't get information without a bit of pain. He tightened the lock slightly. Lennox was about to come over and get Shark off when the man finally spoke.

"Dock seven! He's at dockyard seven!" He yelled. Shark released him. The man ran off down the alleyway, clutching his injured arm. Shark turned and began to walk back.

"Shark, that was uncalled for!" Lennox scolded.

"I got what I came for, that's all" Shark answered back. The two glared at each other. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business," Shark said and walked off.

"Oh no you don't," Lennox said as he grabbed Shark's shoulder. "I have some business with you. You know something about the Numbers and I want to know what" he said. Shark shifted his shoulder forward, knocking Lennox's hand off.

"Fine. But I need to do something first" Shek said and walked off.

"Then I'm coming too," Lennox said as he began to follow. Ruby just groaned.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this," she said as she followed them.

None of them, however, saw the blank card that blew in the wind after them.

 _Author made cards_

 **Forbidden Monster Seal**

 _Continuous Trap_

 _Effect: Active by declaring one monster name. Send all face-up cards with that name to the graveyard. As long as this card remains face up, both players cannot play cards with the same name and all cards with the same name cannot activate their effects and their effects are negated. During your standby phase, pay 1000 life points or destroy this card. You can only control one face up Forbidden Monster Seal._

 **DB – Hellhound: Rank 3/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/1400 ATK/1200 DEF**

 _Effect: 2 level 3 monsters_

 _Once per turn, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card, this card can attack your opponent directly this turn. During the end phase, if this card was destroyed by battle this turn, you can special summon this card from your graveyard. You can only use this effect of 'DB – Hellhound' once per turn._

 **Bomber Angler: Level 3/WATER/Fish/800 ATK/1400 DEF**

 _Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard; inflict 800 points of damage to your opponent.  
_

 **Savage Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/2000 ATK/1800 DEF**

 _Effect: 2 level 3 monsters_

 _Once per turn, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card and banish one water-attribute monster from your graveyard. Until your next standby phase, this card gains ATK equal to that banished monsters ATK. When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, add one of your banished water-attribute monsters to your hand._

* * *

 **Phew! I managed to get this out, quickly didn't I? I already had the chapter planned out as for what was going to happen but felt like too much to put into 1 chapter so I split it up into two parts. Now we're getting onto the part which I really want to get to and we got some sweet character development while on the way. I know it seems early for Lennox's character development but I wanted to explore his reasonings for Number hunting and his feelings towards his mother's death more. I also wanted to put in a little bit more about Lennox's relationship with Shark which will be seen in the next few chapters (Along with Yuma too!). Also! One thing I forgot to mention in the last chapters is about the Numbers used. I know there are real life Numbers to the ones I have in the story like 89, but these Numbers do play a key role for their respective characters, however. That's pretty much why I have them and I can't wait to divulge deeper into the story. Aside from that, If you enjoyed this chapter then leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update!  
**

 **Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Reopened Wounds

"Why are you still following me?" An irritated Shark asked as he almost reached the docks.

" _Because_ ," Said a just as irritated Lennox. "You know something about the Numbers and I want to know what that is." Ruby also followed the pair, grumbling at how pointless this was. The trio soon reached the fabled dockyard seven. It served as one of Heartlands most important facilities. Goods constantly coming by boat day in, day out. This afternoon, however, it was quite quiet. All that was there was a few containers stacked on top of each other and a large warehouse that served as the base for someone Shark knew all too well. The three of them just walked past the containers when they were greeted with a surprising sight. Outside the warehouse was a large gang of men. The lot of them stood outside with their motorcycles, smoking and laughing as they chatted. One of them pointed to Shark and him, Lennox and Ruby and they were soon surrounded.

"What's wrong kiddies? Did you lose your mommies?" One of them said as he stepped forward. Lennox and Ruby looked nervous while Shark seemed unfazed. One stepped behind Ruby and grabbed her arm.

"Cute girl you got here" he snickered while staring at her chest. Ruby jumped.

"Let go of me you pervert!" She screamed. The thug tightened his grip.

"Nice rack too. I like the feisty ones" he snickered.

"Ruby!" Lennox began and stepped forward, but was stopped by the knife touching his throat.

"I wouldn't if I were you," the knife's owner said. Lennox just gulped.

"Yeah, heh heh heh! You shouldn't have come here!" The thug holding Ruby said as he went to grab her skirt.

"What's going on here!" A voice bellowed. The thugs stopped and turned towards the voice. They parted to make a path for the person walking up to them. Shark glared.

"Fuma" he growled. Fuma was a gigantic man. He towered over the other thugs and just his sheer presence was enough to strike fear into their hearts. Fuma was muscular with lavender hair with several ebony bangs. He wore a dark grey vest that had a brown collar, black pants, and shoes.

Fuma gave a look of surprise when he saw Shark in front of him.

"Shark? I thought I'd never see the day you'd come crawling back here" his deep voice said. He turned to the two thugs that were harassing Lennox and Ruby with a sharp glare. "You two! Show some respect! Or do you not know who this is?" He bellowed. The two thugs gulped and left Ruby and Lennox alone.

"Shark…do you know this guy?" Lennox finally said.

"We have a…history together. Rio included" Shark said without turning around. Fuma chuckled.

"That's right. Your old pal Shark here used to be a part of my gang along with Rio until he left to go duel in tournaments" Fuma said and looked at Shark. "Back then, he was a ferocious duelist until those posh tournaments softened him up" Fuma continued with a slight hint of anger in his voice. He then gave a mischievous grin. "But I heard you were back to your old self. So, have you come back to the gang?" Shark just glared at him.

"No. I duel for myself and myself only unless the opportunity arises" Shark explained, giving a slight glance back towards Lennox. "Besides, I'm here on different business," Shark said. Fuma raised an eyebrow.

"What business?" He asked.

"Business about Rio" Shark stated. Lennox looked at Shark concerned. What did Rio have to do with anything?

"Oh? And what about darling Rio?" Lennox felt his body shiver slightly. He didn't like the use of the word 'darling'.

"It's just that a street rat told me a small rumor that you knew who started that fire," Shark said, his words becoming angry at the end of the sentence. Lennox and Ruby's eyes widened. It all made sense now. Rio had been horrifically burned during a fire at an abandoned warehouse and Shark was trying to find out what happened. Lennox mentally hit himself for not realizing sooner.

"Ah, yes. I do actually know something" Fuma said. Shark's expression softened, his eyes filled with a glint of hope. "But, as you may know, information doesn't come free these days…" Fuma trailed off.

"Then how about we settle it the old-fashioned way?" Shark suggested as he reached for his D-Pad.

"Deal."

X

A few minutes later, the crowd had parted to make room for the upcoming duel. Lennox and Ruby stood with the thugs but they stayed slightly away. Fuma's earlier words had given them the impression that if they got too close to the kids then they would be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Are you sure you really want to go through with this?" Fuma asked. Shark just smirked.

"Of course, I'm not the same as I was back then," he said before tossing his D-Pad up. "I'll beat you this time!" He declared.

"Good!" Fuma yelled as he tossed up his own D-Pad. Both D-Pads attached to their owner's wrists as they got their D-Gazers out. "Duel Disk, set!" The pair placed their D-Gazers on their eyes. Lennox and the thugs did the same while Ruby's eye connected with the system.

"D-Gazer, set!"

 **DUEL!**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **VS**

 **Fuma: 4000**

"I'm first!" Fuma yelled as he drew.

 **TURN: 1**

 **Fuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Djinn Cycle!" The ground then cracked open to allow a demonic looking motorcycle to speed out. It was black in color with three wheels that were all a bright red. Its front was shaped into the form a demon's head with red glowing eyes.

 **Djinn Cycle: Level 3/DARK/Machine/400 ATK/400 DEF**

"It only has 400 attack points," Ruby said in slight confusion.

"Watch, I don't think he's done yet," Lennox told her.

"He's right!" Fuma yelled, having heard their exchange. "I play the spell Dark Engineering! This lets me summon another copy of my Djinn Cycle from my hand!" Fuma picked out another card from his hand and slammed it onto his duel disk. The ground the cracked open once again to let another one of the demon cycles out.

 **Djinn Cycle: Level 3/DARK/Machine/400 ATK/400 DEF**

"Now he has two monsters!" Exclaimed Ruby. Shark's expression hardened.

"I now overlay my two Djinn Cycles!" Fuma announced as both his monsters shot up into the air as streams of purple energy. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" A spiraling red Xyz portal opened up in front of Fuma and the two monsters sailed in. "Xyz summon! Rise Mechquipped Angineer!" The monster that rose out the portal defiantly took Lennox and Ruby by surprise. They had never seen anything like it before. This monster was purple in color and resembled an engine. Its face was covered by a mask that had two small wings on the side. Attached to the main body was too rectangular pieces of metal with holes that acted like shoulders. Two large wings were also attached to the 'shoulders'. The lower part of the body consisted of two leg-like structures that were attached to the monster's lower body. These acted like legs with smaller wings attached to them also.

 **Mechquipped Angineer: Rank 3/LIGHT/Fairy/Xyz/1800 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Well,…that's certainly…" Lennox trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Interesting" Ruby finished for him. Shark just glared at the monster. He had seen it numerous times before back when he was a part of Fuma's gang and knew how many first underestimated it for its low attack points.

"Now the effects of both my Djinn Cycles activate!" Fuma announced. "Since they were used as materials for a Xyz summon, you take 400 points of damage, for each one!" Shark didn't react one bit when Angineer let out a flurry of bullets at him. the bullets hit the ground and caused small explosions which the spectators braced themselves at.

 **Shark: 4000 – 800 = 3200**

"That ought to be enough" Fuma said as he placed another card on his duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

 **Fuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 2**

"My turn!" Shark yelled as he drew. I quickly glanced at the card and then his hand, a plan forming in his head.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Shark: 3200**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Needle Sunfish!" Shark announced as he placed the card on his duel disk. A large blue sunfish rose onto the field whose mouth revealed dozens of sharp needles ready to be let loose.

 **Needle Sunfish: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1500 ATK/500 DEF**

"Next I play the spell, Aqua Jet! This card will boost Sunfish's attack points by 1000!" Two small turbine engines with wings attached to the sides were then attached to Needle Sunfish which boosted its power.

 **Needle Sunfish ATK: 1500 + 1000 = 2500**

"Nice! His monster is much stronger than Angineer!" Ruby yelled.

"Yeah! And I think Shark's still not done" Lennox said. Shark took another card from his hand. "I now special summon Big Jaws!" A large vortex of water rose from the card and out of it came Shark's main muscle, his steel mouthed Shark whose jaws were still too big to fit in its mouth. As it came out the vortex, it let out a roar to signal its presence.

 **Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF**

"When I've activated a normal spell card this turn, I can special summon Big Jaws from my hand" Shark explained.

"I see," Fuma said intrigued. "Are you going to crash and then attack me directly?" He asked. Shark knew Fuma was baiting him. He knew full well what Angineer's effect was and it was an annoying one.

 _"Better to use up it's overlay units than wait"_ Shark thought to himself.

"Battle! Needle Sunfish! Attack Angineer!" The turbine jets attached to Sunfish kicked into gear and the monster was propelled forward. After reaching a close enough distance, the monster opened its mouth and fired out several sharp red needles.

"Alright! If Shark destroys Angineer then he can attack Fuma directly!" Lennox cheered.

"As is he'd get the chance!" Fuma scoffed. "I activate Angineer's effect! By using an overlay unit, Angineer switches to defense mod and cannot be destroyed this turn!" Angineer quickly absorbed one of its circling overlay units into his chest and a transparent rainbow barrier encircled it. The needles were helpless against the overwhelming defensive power of the barrier, exploding on contact and leaving Angineer scratch free.

 **Angineer Overlay Units: 1**

Shark just growled in annoyance. This was going to be difficult to deal with. He might even have to bring out his secret weapon.

"Ha ha ha! You of all people should know my Angineer's effect!" Laughed Fuma.

"Not good" mutter Lennox.

"Yeah, If he manages to power up Angineer then thigs could become really difficult for Shark," Ruby said.

" _Come on Shark. You've got to power through this. I need to know too now"_ Lennox thought. He too was now intrigued to know what had happened to one of his closest friends.

"Fine! If I can't damage you by battle, then I'll use other methods!" Shark declared, getting a confused look from everyone but Fuma. "I enter my main phase 2 and overlay my two monsters!" Shark announced. The turbine jets broke off Needle Sunfish and it and Big Jaws turned fully blue. The two then shot up into the air as streams of energy while a red spiral portal opened beneath them. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark declared as the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Out of the portal rose Shark's familiar ace monster. A pair of sharks that were attached to an orange frame that enabled them to fly. Underneath each wing was a black compartment that held the monster's weapons.

 **Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/1900 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Wow! It's Shark's ace!" Ruby cried. Lennox stared at the monster.

" _I see. This will be a battle between rank 3's"_ he thought to himself.

"I use Aero Shark's effect!" Yelled Shark. "By using an overlay unit, I can slam you for 400 points of damage for every card in my hand." Aero Shark was about to absorb one of its overlay units when Fuma revealed his trap.

"Nice try!" He called out. "But I play my trap! **Overlay Lock**!" A pair of chains shot out the card before wrapping around Aero Shark's overlay units and then Aero Shark itself.

"What the?!" Cried Shark. Fuma chuckled.

"My trap activates when you would detach an overlay unit from a Xyz monster. It gets to keep the overlay unit but the effect is negated and it loses 400 attack points…" Fuma's smile grew wider. "…For each overlay unit." Shark gave a look of distress when he saw the attack meter drop.

 **Aero Shark ATK: 1900 – 800 = 1100**

Shark sighed in annoyance and gave up.

"Fine. I end my turn with a face-down" he said as the set appeared.

 **Shark: 3200**

 **Hand: 2**

"My move then!" Fuma yelled as he drew fiercely.

 **TURN: 3**

 **Fuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

"I play Magic Planter! Now by sending Overlay Lock to the graveyard, I can draw two!" Fuma yelled as he drew again. As he did, the chains attached to Aero Shark shattered and the beast was free.

 **Aero Shark ATK: 1900**

"Huh? Why would he get rid of his trap?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah? Unless he has a card that can boost Angineer's power" Lennox replied.

 _"Lennox, you don't know how right you are,"_ Shark thought grimly.

"I now play Xyz Unit!" Fuma declared as a purple aura then surrounded Angineer. "This card ups Angineer's attack points by 200 for each of its ranks. With three ranks, that's 600 points!" The aura around Angineer began to flare up more wildly than before.

 **Angineer ATK: 1800 + 600 = 2400**

"No! now its higher than Aero Shark!" Lennox exclaimed. Shark stayed cool as he was leading Fuma directly into a trap. If it worked, then Fuma would be in trouble.

"Now I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your set card!" Shark mentally cursed as he watched his Poseidon Wave get obliterated by a strong tornado.

"His facedown is gone too!" Exclaimed Ruby.

"Now Angineer! Attack his Aero Shark. The strange machine let out another flurry of bullets out of its shoulder attachments. This time, they were aimed at Aero Shark instead of its master. The bullets pierced through Aero Shark's armor, taking chunks of metal with them. The monster silently accepted its fate as it then exploded, its master taking the full force of the explosion.

 **Shark: 3200 – 500 = 2700**

Fuma laughed as he watched Shark struggle to get up. The explosion has knocked the poor boy on the ground hard, leaving him with several cuts and bruises.

"Hahaha! I knew those fancy tournaments make a duelist weak! Just look at you now!" Fuma teased as he went to place a card on his duel disk.

"Not…yet!" Shark said in between breaths.

"Huh?" Fuma said in confusion.

"Needle Sunfish's effect from the graveyard. When its sent there, one monster loses 500 attack points" Shark explained. The graveyard portal opened up and several hundreds of needles shot out. They slammed into Angineer, causing small explosions upon impact. When the smoke cleared, both duelists and spectators could see that Angineer was quite damaged by the assault.

 **Angineer ATK: 2400 – 500 = 1900**

"How annoying" Fuma muttered as he placed the card into his duel disk. "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

 **Fuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 2**

Shark slowly got up, brushing himself off as he did.

"Don't count me out yet Fuma! I still have my secret weapon!" Shark yelled. Fuma looked at him in surprise.

"Secret weapon?" Asked Lennox. Shark looked at him.

"I originally wanted to save this for dueling against Yuma's Number's, but this is a good as time as any to see how well this works," he told Lennox. "I…Draw!" Shark roared as he drew hard.

 **TURN: 4**

 **Shark: 2700**

 **Hand: 3**

"First I activate Card Of Adversity!" Shark declared. "Since I control no monsters and You control a special summoned monster, I can draw two cards!" Shark then drew. "Next, I play Surface!" Shark announced as the card augmented into life. "This lets me summon a level 3 fish, sea serpent or aqua monster back to the field in defense mode!" The graveyard portal then opened up. "So, I summon Needle Sunfish!" The familiar blue sunfish rose back onto Shark's field ready for battle.

 **Needle Sunfish: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1500 ATK/500 DEF**

"I then summon Drill Barnacle!" The ground cracked open and a large barnacle rose out of it. if one looked closely, the could see that the barnacle had several purple drills inside it just raring to be let loose.

 **Drill Barnacle: Level 3/WATER/Aqua/300 ATK/0 DEF**

"Shark's got two level 3 monsters again" Ruby noted. Lennox's eyes widened. He couldn't be summoning Savage Shark. That card was useless in this situation. Shark must have got a new monster.

"I overlay Drill Barnacle and Needle Sunfish!" Shark declared as his monsters turned blue and shot into the air as energy streams. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark yelled as a spiraling Xyz portal opened in front of him. The two monsters then flew in. "Xyz summon! Behold my _real_ ace! Black Ray Lancer!" The ground broke apart to allow a purple stream of energy to shoot out. The spectators gave a look of shock before the energy dispersed to reveal Shark's new monster. This monster was a black scaled merman warrior covered in a black armor. It had four large amphibian wings, two on its back, and two in place of legs. Its weapon of choice was a large purple twin bladed spear that it swung around vigorously before aiming it at Fuma, fully intending to defend his king.

 **Black Ray Lancer: Rank 3/DARK/Beast-Warrior/2100 ATK/600 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Woah," Lennox said as he gazed at the monster's impressive form. Shark glanced at Lennox and smiled at the recognition of his monster's greatness, before turning back to his opponent.

"I activate Black Ray Lancer's effect! By using one overlay unit, your monster's effects are negated! Go Paralyzing Lance!" Black Ray Lancer absorbed one if its overlay units into its spear, allowing its wings to crackle with purple electricity.

 **Black Ray Lancer Overlay Units: 1**

"Alright! Now he can get past Angineer's protection effect!" Cheered Ruby. Black Ray Lancer shot the electricity out of its wings which hit Angineer. The already damaged machine groaned as the electricity crackled around it. It was then that Lennox suddenly realized something.

" _If it can negate effects! Then it can bypass the Number's immunity effect and destroy it even if it's not a Number!"_ He thought. Shark was defiantly right about Black Ray being a secret weapon.

"Now I activate Needle Sunfish's effect from the graveyard!" Shark declared as the graveyard portal opened up. "Since it was sent back there your monster loses 500 attack points. Once again, hundreds of needles shot out the portal and hit Angineer. The poor machine was almost falling apart at this point when the needles had finished their assault.

 **Angineer ATK: 1900 – 500 = 1400**

"Now I equip Black Ray with the equip spell, **Chaos Armour**!" Shark yelled. A magenta colored armor soon appeared and attached itself to Black Ray Lancer. This included a new helmet with spikes on it and a larger chest plate with several red jewels on it. "thanks to his new armor! Black Ray gains 700 attack points!" A magenta aura surrounded Black Ray Lancer as its power rose.

 **Black Ray Lancer ATK: 2100 + 700 = 2800**

"Now Black Ray Lancer! Attack Angineer! Black Spear!" Black Ray Lancer spun its spear around as before letting the aura cover the spear. Black Ray then tossed the aura powered spear, striking Angineer dead in its center. The machine finally died with an almighty explosion, sending its owner flying back.

 **Fuma: 4000 – 1400 = 2600**

"I end my turn there" Shark declared as Black Ray Lancer's spear returned.

 **Shark: 2700**

 **Hand: 2**

"Why you little…" Fuma growled quietly as he rolled over onto his front. He, unfortunately, didn't notice the blank card that landed underneath his hand as he placed it on the ground to help himself get up. "Huh?" Fuma said as he noticed the card before a dark aura, invisible to everyone by him then consumed him.

" _Yessss, Let the Number take hold"_

Fuma could hear the voice hissing in his ear, its words tempting.

" _Let me in, and your wildest desires will become reality"_

The offer was too tempting for him, the Number's words sweet like honey but as deadly as poison. He had to give in.

"Yes…" he said weakly.

" _Excellent. I see you wish to rule this place, hahaha! I'll grant you your wish!"_

Everyone was confused as Fuma had become unusually quiet for a while. Shark and Lennox could both feel a chill in the air with this new atmosphere.

 _"Something is defiantly wrong,"_ Lennox thought. Shark tensed up as Fuma slowly rose to his feet, his back tuned and head lowered. A dark purple aura that Shark knew all too well began to flare up around Fuma.

"That's...!" Shark began but didn't finish as Fuma swung around with a malicious look on his face and a purple glowing 68 plastered onto his forehead.

"My…Turn!" Fuma roared as he drew.

 **TURN: 5**

 **Fuma: 2600**

 **Hand: 3**

"I activate the trap, **Dark Recycling**!" Fuma declared as the trap flipped itself up. "Now by banishing Angineer from my graveyard I get to Summon back my Djinn Cycles!" A large graveyard portal opened up and Angineer appeared in it briefly before vanishing. The two demon motorcycles then flew out of the portal at an immense speed before stopping in front of Fuma.

 **Djinn Cycle: Level 3/DARK/Machine/400 ATK/400 DEF (x2)**

"Now I summon a third Djinn Cycle!" A third demon cycle burst out of the ground, coming to a stop next to its comrades. All three revved their engines at Black Ray who just stood there silently.

 **Djinn Cycle: Level 3/DARK/Machine/400 ATK/400 DEF**

"He's got three monsters with the same level now!" Ruby yelled. Lennox looked in fear. The only Xyz monsters he knew that needed three materials were his mothers, and they were _powerful_. If a Number required three materials, then things could get ugly.

"Ha ha ha! It's over!" Fuma laughed as he raised his hand. "I overlay my three Djinn Cycles!" The three monsters in question turned purple and shot into the air as streams of energy. "With these three monsters, I build the overlay network!" Fuma announced as a golden galactic portal opened up and the monsters flew in, followed by a burst of golden light. "Xyz summon! Appear! **Number 68: Mechquipped Djinn Bombgineer**!" The number 68 appeared and flashed purple while overlay network shook as the huge behemoth rose out the portal. The monsters sealed form appeared to be that of an engine that blood red in color. The engine then began to change shape as parts began to extend out of it and transform. The monster seemed to still retain its engine shape, with a few additions. Four small cannons extended out of Bombgineer's back with two larger ones on its shoulders. Its center engine was now protected by a thick layer of armor with spikes on it. It had a set of four wings that had extended out of its shoulders with its leg wings being enlarged and had spikes on them too. Lastly, the number 68 was in its center, where its mechanical heart would be.

 **Number 68: Mechquipped Djinn Bombgineer: Rank 3/LIGHT/Fairy/Xyz/2500 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 3**

"No way! He's got a Number!" Ruby exclaimed. Shark took a step back as the monster glared at him.

"Ha ha ha! Nobody can stop me!" Fuma laughed as he thrust his hand forward. "I activate the effects of my Djinn Cycles! Since they were used as materials, you take 400 points of damage for each one!" The two large cannons on Bombgineers shoulders aimed down at Shark with the intent to wipe him off the face of the earth. "With three Cycles that's 1200 points!" It was if a nuclear bomb had exploded when the cannons fired, generating enough force to knock the spectators and some containers over. Shark only looked in horror as he was consumed by the blast.

X

Yuma was walking home after dueling Tetsuo in the park earlier. Astral had retreated into the key, something which Yuma was thankful for. The stupid blue alien had continued to pester him all day and had finally given up and retreated inside the key to think. Yuma was happy to have a break. Suddenly, he saw a pillar of smoke rising from the docks. As if on cue, Astral materialized out of the key.

"Astral? What's up?" Yuma asked concerned.

"Hmm…I am not entirely sure, but I do have this nagging feeling inside my head, however" Astral explained. He then looked at the pillar of smoke. "Maybe that is the source of this feeling," he said to himself.

"What? The smoke?" Yuma asked. "You think a Number is involved?"

"Perhaps." Without any hesitation, Yuma began to run off in the direction of the smoke.

X

Lennox's head buzzed, and his ears were ringing as he slowly got up. He looked and surveyed the damage around him and gasped at what he saw. One of the containers behind him had been blown away, and a large crater had appeared in the ground that traveled where Shark was currently lying on the floor motionless.

"Shark!" Lennox yelled in concern. He then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shark's body twitch. "Thank god" he breathed. Then, Shark screamed. It was a horrible blood curling scream that you would only ever hear in a horror movie, and those didn't even compare to Sharks. Shark's whole body burned as waves of pain shot through him one after another. "Shark!" Lennox called as he went rush over to his friend. Lennox stopped as he felt a sharp pain go through his leg. It was so bad he couldn't move it at all.

Lennox thumped back onto the ground as he then heard someone getting up behind him.

"Unnngggh" Ruby groaned as she got up. "What happened?" She asked dazed.

"World War 3" Lennox muttered as he was now trying to find his D-Gazer that had fallen off him in the explosion. He soon found it and flipped it back on, displaying the scores and the monster's stats.

 **Shark: 1500**

Shark, by now, had rolled over and was now sitting on the ground, looking up at Black Ray Lancer who was glaring at Bombgineer. Fuma chuckled darkly as the aura surged around him.

"Yes! The power…its incredible!"

"You're mad!" Shark yelled. "That power is no good for you! It's clouding your judgment!"

"Bah! What do you know!" Fuma retorted.

"A lot actually!" Shark shot back. "I was possessed by a Number too. I know how the power feels." Shark lowered his head and held his fist it his chest. "But then Yuma woke me up," he said suddenly, catching the attention of Lennox and Ruby. "He saved me from the Numbers darkness" Shark continued as he slowly got up. "Even after I was horrible to him." Shark was now on his feet. "So the least I can do is pay him back!" He yelled boldly. Fuma looked on in disgust. "I refuse to give up! A duel isn't over until the last card is played!"

Fuma began to laugh at this.

"Wow, I can't believe you tried to give me the whole friendship speech. What a joke!" He laughed.

"It wasn't for you" Shark simply said, giving a lightning fast glance at Lennox. Fuma stopped laughing and looked at Shark in confusion before shrugging.

"Who cares? You're still a long shot from winning this" he said.

"Are you sure about that?" Shark asked. "My monster is stronger." Fuma raised an eyebrow.

"He's right," Ruby said. "Black Ray Lancer still has that Chaos Armour, so it's the strongest monster in play. That Number's got nothing on Shark!"

"On the contrary my dear!" Fuma said to her. "I'm afraid Shark has nothing on _me_." Fuma then raised his hand again. "I activate Bombgineers second effect! Each time you take effect damage, Bombgineer can wipe out one of your spell cards!" The cannons on Bombgineer then took aim at Black Ray Lancer before firing. The four energy beams hit Black Ray Lancer, not damaging the monster itself, but shattering its armor completely.

 **Black Ray Lancer ATK: 2800 – 700 = 2100**

Shark chuckled as he watched the scraps of the armor fall onto the ground with a massive crash.

"Fuma, what a fool you are," he said with a smile. "I activate the effect of my armor! When it's destroyed, my opponent takes 700 points of damage!" What remained of the armor then flew towards Fuma, slamming into him.

 **Fuma: 2600 – 700 = 1900**

"You'll pay for that!" Fuma growled as the aura around him intensified. "Bombgineer! Attack Black Ray Lancer! Full Fire Blast!" Every available cannon on bombgineer then took aim at Black Ray Lancer before firing. Shark braced himself as Black Ray Lancer took the full brunt of the explosion, crying out as he perished.

 **Shark: 1500 – 400 = 1100**

"Now for Bombgineers effect!" Fuma declared as the war machine absorbed one of its overlay units.

 **Bombgineer Overlay Units: 2**

"When it destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I can detach one overlay unit to hit you with 1000 points of damage!" Shark had no time to brace himself as the cannons on Bombgineer rained down all hell on him. Shark cried out in pain as he was thrown back.

 **Shark: 1100 – 1000 = 100**

"Shark!" Ruby called out while Lennox just looked on.

"This is getting ridiculous. I had no idea that Numbers could inflict this much damage!" He finally said.

"Yeah! If Shark doesn't do something soon then things are going to get pretty ugly" Ruby added. When the smoke cleared, Fuma could see the body of Shark lying on the floor. He laughed at his achievement.

"Ha! I told you that you wouldn't win" he laughed. Shark slowly got up.

"Don't count me out yet Fuma" he said. This caused another round of laughter from Fuma.

"Are you kidding? You've got no cards on your field and have only 100 life points! How do you possibly think you can win?!"

"Because I still have life left and cards to play!" Shark retorted. Fuma frowned.

"Hmph! Whatever. Since you have so spell or traps, Bombgineer's effect doesn't activate. I end my turn."

 **Fuma: 1900**

 **Hand: 2**

Shark placed his hand on his deck and let out a deep breath.

" _This is it. I've set up for this moment"_ he thought as he glanced at Skull Kraken and Monster Reborn in his hand. _"I just need that one card! One card! And it will all be over."_ Unbeknownst to Shark, he was about to have a visitor. A gust of wind blew across the duel field, carrying a certain card.

"My turn! Draw!" Shark yelled as he drew his card hard. As he did, the card in the wind landed in his hair. Shark flipped over the card he drew and grinned, he had drawn his trump card. On the sidelines, Dawn Sword materialized next to Lennox.

"Well you've been quiet" commented Lennox.

"Apologies Master, but I'm afraid there is a Number here," Dawn Sword said.

"Really? You don't say?" Lennox said sarcastically as he motioned towards Bombgineer. "A bit late now."

"No, the source is coming from your friend."

Shark felt weird. There was something uncomfortable in his hair and he didn't like it. he reached up and pulled out whatever it was, only to discover it was a blank card. His eyes widened.

"No…!" He breathed before a dark aura enveloped him.

X

When Shark opened his eyes again he was in a dark space with purple mist hanging by his feet.

"No…no, no, no! Not again! I can't be possessed again!" He yelled. There was a loud roar in the distance and Shark could then see a Silhouette of a dragon with glowing red eyes and six enormous wings.

" _Let me take hold"_ the Number hissed.

Shark took a step back.

"No! I've already been controlled by your kind before and don't intend to be again!" Shark yelled at the dragon. The dragon growled at him. "Go on! Growl at me!" Shark yelled defiantly. "I'm not afraid of you!"

" _As if you had any choice in the matter"_ the Number spoke. _"Let me feed on your emotions and then your desires become reality. Just let me in."  
_

"No!" Shark yelled. "I already said no and that's that! Maybe I should control you instead!" The Number now growled angrily at Shark.

" _You insolent human!"_ It thundered. _"You know not whom you speak to! I am one of the strongest of the 100 weapons and I will not be stopped by a simple human!"_

"I don't care!" Shark fought back. "All you're going to end up doing is brainwashing me like the rest of your kind!" The Number then roared angrily.

" _You blame us for that?! Excuse me! It's not our fault that our powers amplify your emotions! No wonder the Crinoan's hated you lot!"_ The Number fumed. _"All I want to do is complete my mission!"_

Shark then looked at the Number and an idea popped into his head.

"Your mission is to collect the Numbers right? Then I have an idea" he said. The Number looked at him intrigued.

" _Go on…"_

"How about we form a partnership? I beat Number holders etc. And you do your part in beating them, deal?

The Number thought for a moment and then sighed.

" _If it beats wasting my time here arguing with you then I agree."_

"Excellent" Shark said as his vision became white.

X

Shark blinked once, then twice. He was back in the real world. He looked at the card in his hand to see the blank card had transformed. He skimmed over the card text and smiled.

 **TURN: 6**

 **Shark: 100**

 **Hand: 3**

"It's game over Fuma!" Shark declared as he placed a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Skull Kraken!" Shark's monster was a human skull that was black and upside down. Sprouting from it were several long bony tentacles.

 **Skull Kraken: Level 3/DARK/Aqua/600 ATK/1600 DEF**

"Please tell me your joking. You're going to beat me with _that_?" Fuma said.

"Not exactly" Replied Shark as he picked out another card. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Needle Sunfish!" The graveyard portal opened up and out rose Shark's all too familiar monster, the blue sunfish armed to the teeth literally with red needles.

 **Needle Sunfish: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1500 ATK/500 DEF**

"Two level 3 monsters again," Ruby said. Shark raised his hand up.

"I overlay my level 3 Needle Sunfish and Skull Kraken!" He ordered a Needle Sunfish turned fully blue and Skull Kraken purple, the two monsters then shot up into the air as streams of energy. "With these three monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark yelled as a golden galactic portal opened up at Shark's feet, much to the shock of Lennox and Ruby. The two monsters then swirled in, followed by a burst of golden light. "Xyz summon! Come! Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!" The number 17 appeared and flashed yellow as the Numbers sealed form rose out of the portal in a cloud of purple fog. This was a strange red jewel that was encased in several coil wires running around it and six large scythe blades on top. The coil then began to unwind and transformed into the dragon's serpent-like body. The six scythes had now become six large wings that went along its serpent-like body. The red jewel itself had become the monsters crocodile-like head, with large crocodile jaws and six horns with the number 17 on one of them. It gave out a high-pitched cry as it took its place on the battlefield. 

**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: Rank 3/WATER/Dragon/Xyz/2000 ATK/0 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"No way…" Lennox trailed off as he looked at the newcomer. "Shark has a Number now."

"Ah! It feels good to have a body again!" Leviathan Dragon said as it stretched its wings.

"Number 17, it's been a while," Bombgineer said.

"Yes, it has 68, I see your destructive as ever" Leviathan Dragon said as he observed the damage. "I'm only going to ask this once, surrender to me now." Bombgineer let out a small laugh.

"And what makes me think I would surrender to you?" Bombgineer hissed. "I'm free now, and I intend to stay free! You can't beat me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure" Leviathan Dragon said sisterly. Fuma then laughed.

"Bombgineers right, how's that going to help you?" Fuma said to Shark. "Granted you summoned a Number, its attack power is still lower than Bombgineer's." Shark then chuckled.

"Not for long," he said as he raised his hand. "I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect! By using one overlay unit it gains 500 attack points!" Leviathan Dragon chomped down on one of its overlay units, letting a blue glow run across its body.

 **Leviathan Dragon Overlay Units: 1**

 **Leviathan Dragon ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500**

"Next I activate Needle Sunfish's effect from the graveyard!" Declared Shark as the graveyard portal opened. "Since he was sent there your monster loses 500 attack points!" A flurry of red pointed needles flew out the portal and hit Bombgineer, causing small explosions on contact.

 **Bombgineer ATK: 2500 – 500**

"Alright!" Cheered Ruby. "Now Leviathan Dragon can defeat Bombgineer!"

"But you still can't beat me! I'll have plenty of life points left over!" Fuma yelled.

"Actually, you won't," Shark said smugly as he revealed the last card in his hand. "I activate **Hyper Armoured Xyz**!" Shark yelled as the graveyard portal then opened. "Now I can take one Xyz monster from my graveyard and equip it onto another one I control! I choose Black Ray Lancer!" Black Ray Lancer appeared briefly before turning into purple energy which flew towards Leviathan Dragon. There was a bright purple flash as the two monsters combined. When the light died down, both duelists and spectators could see that Leviathan Dragon was now covered in a black armor that went down its body. Its horns had been replaced by Black Ray Lancer's face mask that had been reshaped to fit Leviathan Dragon. Attached to the sides of Leviathan Dragon's jaws were the two ends of Black Ray Lancer's spear. Leviathan Dragon gave a mighty roar as its power-up was complete. "Now Leviathan Dragon gains attack points equal to the equipped monster!"

"Say what?!" Both Lennox and Fuma gasped.

"Wait, 2100 plus 2500 equals…" Ruby began.

"4600," Fuma said fearfully as he watched Leviathan Dragon growl at him.

 **Leviathan Dragon ATK: 2500 + 2100 = 4600**

"Leviathan Dragon! End this! Vice Stream!" Leviathan Dragon then began charge up a blue energy beam in its jaws as the two spears at the sides of its jaws crackled with electricity. Leviathan Dragon then let loose the beam as the two spears fired twin energy beams that combined into one huge energy wave. Purple electricity crackled around the wave as it slammed into Bombgineer, erasing it completely.

 **Fuma: 1900 – 2600 = 0**

 **Fuma: LOSE**

"Hmph! That showed him" Leviathan Dragon huffed as it disappeared. Shark sighed heavily as he took off his D-Gazer, thankful that the duel was now over. He then looked over to see Lennox and Ruby walking over.

"Shark…you won, and you have a Number now," Lennox said concerned. "Are you ok? You're not possessed, are you?"

"No, I feel fine" Shark told them. Lennox sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness, I didn't want to end up in another high-stakes duel. I'm done with dueling for now" Lennox said.

"Lennox" Shark began, but the stopped as Ruby spoke up.

"I'm a little confused why the Number didn't possess you this time," she said.

"Maybe it has something to do with me already being possessed previously," Shark said. He didn't really want to tell them about his vision. "Now let's see what our friend has to say." The trio then walked up to Fuma who was unconscious on the floor. The could see the purple 68 on his forehead. Shark reached down and picked up Bombgineer's card which was lying next to Fuma. As he did the 68 on Fuma shattered and the man started to wake up. Unbeknownst to the others, Shark could have sworn he saw his hand glow red as he picked up Number 68.

"Uggh…I…lost?" Fuma asked as he sat up.

"Afraid so," Shark said.

"But…how?" Fuma said in disbelief.

"Simple, I was better than you," Shark told him sternly. "Now spill! Who burned Rio?!" Shark yelled. Fuma chuckled.

"It was The Pack." Shark's body tensed, and he hit his leg with his hand.

"Those bastards" he growled furiously. He then turned around swiftly and strode away.

"Shark! Wait!" Lennox called, but Shark ignored him. As Shark reached the end of the warehouse, Yuma passed him.

"Huh? Shark?!" Yuma said in surprise as he turned around. "Where have you been?" he asked but Shark kept on walking. Yuma then turned to see Lennox and Ruby with Fuma. He then noticed the wrecked dockyard and the tungs cowering in fear. "Yo Lennox! What happened?" Yuma called over.

"This is going to take quite the explanation" Ruby whispered. Lennox could only silently agree.

 _Author Made Cards_

 **Overlay Lock**

 _Continuous Trap_

 _Effect: Activate only when an opponent's Xyz monster activates its effect that would detach a Xyz material from it. Negate that effect and the Xyz material is not attached, then that monster loses 400 ATK for each Xyz Material it has, also, it cannot activate its effects. These effects last while this card is face-up on the field.  
_

 **Chaos Armour**

 _Equip Spell_

 _Effect: Equip only to a rank 3 or lower Xyz monster. The equipped monster gains 700 ATK. When this face-up card is sent from the field to the graveyard, inflict 700 points of damage to your opponent.  
_

 **Dark Recycling**

 _Trap_

 _Effect: Banish one rank 3 Xyz monster from your graveyard, special summon 2 Djinn Cycles from your graveyard in attack mode. You can only activate one Dark Cycling per turn._

 **Number 68: Mechquipped Djinn Bombgineer: Rank 3/LIGHT/Fairy/Xyz/2500 ATK/1800 DEF**

 _Effect: 3 level 3 monsters_

 _Must first be Xyz summoned and cannot be summoned by other ways. Once per turn this card cannot be destroyed by battle. Each time your opponent takes damage from a card effect, destroy one face-up spell card your opponent controls. When this card destroys an opponent' s monster by battle, you can detach one Xyz Material from this card to inflict 1000 points of damage to your opponent.  
_

 **Hyper Armoured Xyz**

 _Spell_

 _Effect: Target one Xyz monster in your Graveyard and equip it to one Xyz monster you control. The equipped monster gains ATK equal to the monster equipped by this effect. During the end phase, destroy the equipped monster._

X

Finalllllllly! I am so happy to get this chapter out the way! I wrote this a long time back but projects, the recent passing of a very close family member (Rest In Peace) and looking for a job on top of that. I've hardly found time to write. Just expect long gaps in between updates, I'm really trying. But I've finished most of my projects (Only have 2 left to do) and my search for work will be completed soon. Another huge delay was the fact I went to comic con the other weekend and spent the whole day there. I almost got to meet Yugi and Kaiba's voice actors but was too late to join the queue :'(. Anyways, I'm happy that this is finally done, and I can get started on the next chapter XD. I've got until the end of the WDC all planned out, so the problem is just writing itself. Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter then leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update!

Bye!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Showdown

It was Monday again. The weekend had been quite eventful with Yuma now gaining another Number, 83 to be exact, and also a new friend in the form of Cathy. She was a shy girl that had a strange obsession with cats and had caused her to gain the nickname, Cat. Lennox had also spent a while explaining to Yuma about what happened with Shark, still not explaining about the Number he had. This lead Ruby to question him on the way to school.

"Why haven't you told the others yet?" She asked Lennox. Lennox took a sip of his apple juice he had before explaining.

"I just don't feel now would be a suitable time," he told Ruby as they walked down the stairs that entered the school. "Besides, it would just make things more complicated right now."

"I suppose your right" Ruby sighed as they entered the classroom. "But you got to tell him sooner or…" Ruby went to continue, but stopped at the sight of the class out of their seats and chatting to each other.

"Huh? I guess Professor Uyko is running late" Lennox mused.

He and Ruby then made their way over to Yuma and the others, who were talking to Takashi. "Hey guys," Lennox said with a small wave. "What's going on?"

"Takashi here thinks Yuma is a terrible duelist because he relies on Number monsters" Kotori explained.

"It's true," Takashi said as he turned towards Lennox and Ruby. "All of Yuma's victories so far have included him winning with a Number card. To summarise, He cannot win without them." Lennox scoffed at Takashi's attitude. The guy was so insensitive, no wonder Lennox didn't like him.

"So, what? You're just so proud of your victory against Yuma that you had to come over here and brag, didn't you?" Lennox huffed as he and Takashi looked each other in the eyes. "Nobody cares, so quit being rude and buzz off." The others looked concerned as Lennox and Takashi then began to glare at each other.

"Yeah? Well my point still stands strong. Yuma cannot win without a Number" Takashi said firmly. Lennox had finally had enough.

"Ok, how's this for a point smart ass? In all of Yuma's victories, his opponent also used a Number. So, logically, it only seems fair that Yuma uses one too. Now that you've heard my point, go take your opinion, and tell someone who _actually_ gives a toss."

Takashi just huffed.

"Well, that may be true, but we've never seen Yuma win without another have we? I propose a bet." Takashi said.

"…Go on" Lennox replied.

"Yuma…" Takashi said as he turned towards said person. "I assume you want to prove me wrong too?"

"Hell yes!" Yuma answered. "I won't let you insult my skills. I could have definitely beaten Shark and Tokunosuke without Numbers!"

"Fine then. If you want to prove it then go and duel Shark again _without_ your Numbers" Takashi said. He then turned to Lennox. "Lennox, my bet is simple. If Yuma wins without using his Numbers, then your point is correct. If he loses or uses a Number card, then My point is correct." He then held out his hand "Deal?" Lennox looked at Yuma.

"Only if Yuma is ok with it." He said.

"Yeah, I'm totally cool with it. I'll be able to prove to everyone that that victory was no fluke!" Lennox smiled and shook Takashi's hand firmly.

"Then it's a bet!" Lennox declared as he shook Takashi's hand.

"Excellent. We will find Shark tonight and have Yuma duel him straight away" Takashi said.

"Easier said than done" Kyoya chimed in. Everyone looked at him. "Since Shark has disappeared for the past few days, he's gonna be difficult to find."

"True," Lennox said as everyone began to think of a way to find out Shark's whereabouts.

"Wait, I have an idea," Ruby said.

"You do?" Yuma asked.

"Yep. Although, it's kinda a stupid one" Ruby said while scratching the back of her head.

"Please, it can't be that stupid," Lennox said encouragingly.

* * *

"This is extremely stupid," Lennox said as he and the rest of the group trekked towards dockyard 7.

"Well, I figured that this Fuma guy probably knows where The Pack is since Shark is looking for them" Ruby explained.

"To be honest, that's actually kinda smart instead of stupid" Tetsuo pointed out. The group soon reached the warehouse, which was still trashed slightly from Friday. They could see no one there except for a lone gang member preparing to get on his motorbike.

"Hey!" Ruby called out to him. The gang member cursed as he saw the group and tried frantically to start his bike. "Wait!" Ruby called as she and the others ran over, blocking the man's escape.

"Piss off!" The man yelled as he continued to try and start his bike.

"Wait, we just want to talk to you!" Ruby told him.

"As if! I ain't talking to you freaks after what happened!" The man retorted. Just then, his bike started.

The man was about to leave when Tetsuo pushed him off the bike.

"That was a little too extreme," Lennox told him.

"Yeah? Well, he's our only chance to find Shark. Sometimes you need to be extreme" Tetsuo said. The man rubbed his head before looking up at all the teen staring at him.

"Listen, we just want to talk," Lennox said.

"As if!" The man yelled. "After what you did to the boss, there's no way I'm staying around with freaks like you!"

"No, really" Ruby protested. "We don't want to hurt you, well, it's a little late for that after what Tetsuo did, but we just want to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? And what is it?" The man huffed.

"We want to know where Shark is" Kyoya spoke.

"He was the one who duelled your boss. He mentioned something about 'The Pack'" Lennox spoke next.

The man thought for a moment.

"Hmm…The Pack huh? Yeah, I know where they are. We're long-time rivals with them, constantly fighting for territory" he explained. "But why should I tell you where they are?"

"Because we'll leave you alone if you do," Ruby said.

"Fine" the man huffed, seeing there was no way out of this. "They're mainly around the south-east of the city, in the slightly run-down area. You should go to an alleyway on Brigemire Street. That's all I know so far" the man explained as he got up and on to his bike. He started up the engine and took off in a cloud of dust. The group coughed as the dust began to settle.

"Well, he was quick to leave," Yuma said.

"Let's just get this over with," Lennox said. "It's getting late and I don't want to be around the rough area of Heartland at night."

"Y-Yeah" Kotori said, slightly nervous at the thought of that.

* * *

The sun was now beginning to set as the group walked around heartland's rough area.

"Brigemire street, Brigemire street" Lennox muttered to himself as he looked for the street sign. Many members of the group felt as if they were being watched. They soon found the street and looked around for the alleyway. Astral had appeared out of Yuma's key by now but had said nothing so far. Yuma had filled him in on what had happened.

"There it is!" Kyoya pointed out as the group then saw it.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Takashi asked with fear in his voice.

"Hey! You started this stupid debate, so it's only fair you stay until the end" Lennox said annoyed.

"He does have a point," Kotori said while Takashi just sighed.

The group was walking down the alleyway, searching for the entrance to The Pack's lair.

"Yuma! Wait!" Astral suddenly called out.

"What is it Astral?" Yuma asked.

"Look. This part of the wall, it looks slightly different from the rest of it" Astral explained.

"Oh yeah, it does!" Yuma said before he called out to the others.

"Hey! It's back here guys!" The group turned and walked back to Yuma who was now facing the wall.

"This is it?" Tetsuo asked.

"Yeah. Astral found it. he said this part of the wall is different" Yuma explained.

"I have to admit, that so-called duel spirit you have is right," Kyoya said. "The walls look different." The part of the wall that everyone was looking at seemed to be a slightly different shade of colour than the rest of the building's walls and was also a rectangular shape.

"Maybe it's a door?" Ruby questioned.

"Well…there's only one way to find out," Lennox said as he stepped towards the 'door'. Lennox ran his fingers along the 'door' until he found a gap running down the middle of the wallpaper. Lennox pulled it open like a pair of curtains which revealed a door on the other side. The door slid open automatically, revealing a staircase that went down into the building. "Well, whaddya know? It is a door. I guess they use it to hide the entrance" Lennox said as he stepped in. The others then followed.

"Careful not to damage the wallpaper. We don't want anyone knowing we're here" Kyoya said. Tetsuo gently closed the wallpaper curtains behind him as he was the last one in, and the group walked down the dark staircase. The group continued down the staircase for some time until it came into an open space with the entrance of what looked like a trashed underground bar. The windows were smashed, and the neon sign was busted, hanging down at an angle and several letters were broken.

"This place is a dump" Kyoya commented.

"I second that," Ruby said as she glanced at the trash bags outside the door.

"Do you guys really think Shark is here though?" Takashi asked.

"Well, this is our best chance at finding him," Yuma said and turned towards the door. It didn't take long to find Shark, as when the door opened, he was standing on the other side with his back turned.

"Sh-Shark?!" Yuma exclaimed surprised. The two were so close to each other that Shark could have felt Yuma breathing on his neck. Shark whirled around, a look of surprise on his face.

"The hell?! What are you guys doing here?" He asked shocked.

"Looking for _you_ , that's what," Lennox told Shark.

"Wha-?" Shark began, but stopped and closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. He then shook his head and looked back at the group. "You can't be here, it's dangerous." Shark then turned and walked back into the bar.

"Shark, wait!" Yuma called out and followed him in. The rest of the group followed suit. What they saw next shocked them.

The hideout of The Pack which was some old bar was even worse on the inside. Rubbish and debris lay everywhere. Tables were snapped, monitors cracked, the bar top smashed and covered with broken glass, arcade machines broken and busted, the list went on.

"This is The Pack's hideout?" Ruby asked shocked. She had never seen a place more ruined.

"Observation Number 15: Different Humans have different living standards" Astral commented.

"You got that right" Yuma added. "This place is a dump!"

"Yes, now leave," Shark told him.

"We're not leaving without you," Yuma said firmly.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Shark asked him as he turned back to face Yuma.

"Because I want a rematch," Yuma told him. Shark chuckled.

"You want a rematch?" He asked.

"Hell yes!" Yuma replied with a yell and was about to continue when he heard footsteps and voices outside.

"Shit!" Shark hissed as he and the others heard the footsteps too.

"What is it?" Lennox asked with worry.

"The Pack," Shark said grimly. "They'll kill us if they find us here."

"K-Kill us?" Takashi asked with fear.

"Yeah, now hide!" Everyone wasted no time in darting behind the cover of the ruined furniture and debris. Kotori and Kyoya hid behind the bar top whilst Yuma, Ruby and Tetsuo – and Astral by extent – hid behind some rubble from the ceiling that was thankfully large enough to conceal all three of them. Astral was invisible to everyone but Yuma, so he didn't have a problem. Shark, Lennox and Takashi hid behind a table near a dark hallway. The table was facing the door and had a small gap in it, so someone could see from behind it. The doors opened, and several thuggish looking men walked in, led by two other men who seemed to be in charge.

The first was a black-haired man in a white shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, white trousers and shoes. The shirt had a red collar to give him some colour other than white. The second man was much larger than the man in white. He was tall and muscular with dreadlocks and wore a black tank top with baggy green trousers that had a chain attached to them, as well as several chains wrapped around his wrist. All of them walked in laughing as they clutched several heavy bags.

"Oh man! That was so fucking easy!" Laughed the man in white as he dumped his bag on the ground.

"You got that right Chills," The man with dreadlocks said as he turned to his partner. "With these rare cards, we'll be the strongest gang in Heartland." This earned a round of cheers from the group of thugs.

"What do we do?" Lennox asked in a whisper.

"You see that hallway back there?" Shark asked as he pointed his thumb behind him. Lennox and Takashi looked and saw a dark hallway not too far from their hiding spot.

"Yeah? What about it?" Lennox asked.

"There's another entrance I used to get in. If we sneak there quietly, then we can get out of this mess" Shark explained to him.

"I say we do it. We've got no other options" Takashi said.

"Ok then," Lennox said with a nod. "But we need to tell the others."

"So? What's the next plan boss?" A small gang member wearing a sleeveless top with the letters R and K on them asked.

"Next?" The man with dreadlocks said. "Next we raid the museum for that rare deck. I heard it belonged to a former champion."

"Yeah" the man in white continued. "With that kind of power, not even the authorities could stop us." Whilst the men chuckled, the group began to move behind them, making their escape. Lennox and Takashi had notified Yuma, Tetsuo and Ruby of their escape route. The main problem was telling Kotori and Kyoya due to how close they were to The Pack members. The two had retreated further into the bar top as the members had walked closer. Thankfully, The Pack hadn't seen the others, who were now out of sight and down the hallway.

"What do we do?" Asked Lennox.

"Yeah! We can't leave Kotori and Kyoya back there!" Protested Yuma.

"I say we divert The Pack's attention and allow Kotori and Kyoya to escape" Takashi came up with.

"But then we'll be seen!" Yuma exclaimed quietly.

"It's our best option" Shark cut in. "If not, then the pair of them are dead meat."

"Then let's do it," Lennox said.

* * *

Kyoya watched carefully as The Pack unloaded their prizes which were several rare cards. Many members had moved into another room opposite them, but some still remained by the entrance, talking and smoking.

"Ok Kotori, I'm sure the others are waiting for us. I need to you stay as close to the rubble as possible. Can you do that?" Kyoya asked. Kotori nodded. She was completely scared out of her wits. "Ok, go now," Kyoya told her. Kotori got on all fours and began to slowly crawl out of the bar top. She spotted and a piece of rubble and waited. At this point, Kyoya tossed a stone across the room. The stone hit a fuse box on the other side of the room with a loud CLANG!

"The hell?" One thug said and walked over to the fuse box.

"Don't bother with it, it's busted, remember?" Another said as the rest followed. Kotori then took this chance creep across the floor, aiming to find another place to hide. Kyoya then went to follow.

Lennox, Shark and Yuma had just arrived, Yuma and Shark hiding behind a vending machine near the entrance to the hallway while Lennox hid in a doorway directly opposite them. From the angle he was at, Lennox could see Kotori creeping along the floor while Yuma and Shark could only the Thugs inspecting the fuse box.

"I see her!" Lennox yelled in a hushed voice.

"They must have distracted them somehow," Shark said. Lennox waved his hand at Kotori who noticed this. Kotori and began to move towards him. Kyoya noticed this too and had almost left the bar. It was at this point that Kotori decided to sneeze loudly. All the thugs turned around to see Kotori, the man with dreadlocks now walking into the room.

"The hell? How did she get in here?" One thug asked.

"Oh shit! Run Kotori!" Lennox called.

"Idiot!" Shark yelled at him, as The Pack would now hear them. Kotori wasted no time and sprinted towards Lennox. The dreadlocked man was about to move when Kyoya called out to him.

"Oi! Jackass!" Kyoya yelled as he threw a glass cup he had gotten from the bar.

"Why you little!" The dreadlocked man yelled as he avoided the cup and rushed Kyoya. Kyoya darted out the way at the last second, leaving the dreadlocked man to crash into the wall.

"Fuck!" He yelled in anger as he turned towards his lackeys. "Don't just stand there like idiots! After them!" The thugs nodded and took off after Kyoya.

Kyoya was now running down the hallway with the others, but the thugs were catching up. He then passed something that caught his eye and stopped.

"Guys!" He called, Lennox and Shark stopping as they were the ones at the back of the group. They then saw Kyoya behind a large vending machine. The two instantly knew what to do and got behind it. "One! Two! Three! Heave!" The trio heaved as hard as they could when the thugs approached, pushing the vending machine over.

"GAAAH!" The front thug cried as he was crushed by the machine, as well as the thug behind him. The trio turned and continued to run down the hallway while the third thug tried to get his friends out from under the vending machine. When he looked up, all he saw was the empty hallway with Kyoya, Lennox and Shark nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Half an hour had passed, and the group was now by a set of newly developed warehouses by the ocean. A new highway was being built nearby to expand the city but had fallen behind schedule due to complications. The workmen had left the site for the evening, allowing the group to sneak in undetected.

"My god, that was terrifying" Takashi sighed.

"I know" Ruby replied. "We were so dead when they found you guys."

"Yeah, that was stupid" Shark huffed. "Why the hell did you even follow me there?!" He yelled. The group recoiled from Shark's outburst, but Yuma then spoke up.

"Because I want to have a rematch with you!" He yelled back.

"Hmph! I have no interest in duelling you" Shark huffed and turned around to walk away. "Besides…I have other business to attend to."

"About that!" Yuma called out to him. Shark stopped. "I know why you're getting involved with those thugs. It's about revenge isn't it."

"So?" Shark said without turning around.

" _So_ , what I'm saying is that it's wrong to duel for revenge," Yuma told him. Shark gritted his teeth angrily.

"Yuma's right Shark" Lennox joined in. "Revenge won't bring Rio back, it would only hurt you more." Shark clenched his fists so hard that his palms had markings where his fingernails dug into his skin.

"And what do you know?!" Shark yelled suddenly, whirling around with a look of anger on his face. "Why the hell are you so concerned about me?!"

"Because we're friends!" Yuma yelled back. Shark looked at him surprised. "Everyone I duel is my friend. We all share a connection with each other when we duel. You, me, Rio, Lennox, all of us Shark. Didn't you feel that too?" For a second, Yuma could have sworn he saw the old Shark's eyes he knew when he was younger, but they disappeared.

"We are not friends. Nor will we ever be" Shark said defiantly. He was not falling for this.

"Yes, we are Ryoga!" Protested Yuma. "What happened to the Ryoga we all knew when we were kids!" This statement shocked Shark. Yuma was actually using his _real name_. Yuma had only ever called him Ryoga once when he was kids.

 _Flashback_

 _A young Yuma was on the ground crying as three larger boys towered over him._

" _Ha! You can't beat us! You're just a loser" the largest one of the three said._

 _"Yeah, with skills like yours, you would never become a duelist," another said.  
_

" _Hey!" A voice called out. The three boys turned around to see a young Ryoga standing there. "Leave him alone" he barked._

" _And who's gonna make us? You?" the largest one teased._

" _I'm thinking about it" Ryoga snapped back._

* * *

 _15 minutes later and the large boy was on the ground with cards scattered everywhere._

" _I…lost?" The boy said in disbelief._

" _Yeah! Now leave before I tell the teacher!" Ryoga yelled at him. The boy recoiled in fright and ran off with his two friends. Ryoga turned back to Yuma who was by the table that Ryoga had just duelled on. "You ok?" Ryoga asked.  
_

" _I am now! That was awesome!" Yuma exclaimed. "I'm Yuma."_

" _I'm Ryoga" Ryoga answered._

" _Ryoga? That sounds silly" Yuma said._

" _Hey!" Ryoga yelled in annoyance._

" _How about I call you… 'Shark'?" Yuma concluded._

" _Shark?" Asked Ryoga confused. "Why that?"_

" _Because of all your awesome Shark monsters in your deck, their so cool" Yuma explained._

" _Shark huh?" Ryoga asked. He had to admit, he kinda liked it._

" _Well? Whaddya say?" Yuma asked him._

" _Ok, You can call me that" Ryoya, or rather Shark answered._

 _Flashback End_

Shark shook his head after the memory finished playing in his head.

"The past is the past Yuma. I only care about the future" Shark told Yuma.

"Screw that! The past is important too!" Yuma yelled.

"Shark, at least tell me this" Lennox began. "If we're not friends, then why did you save me? You didn't have too, but you did." Shark had to actually think for a moment before finally replying.

"Because I felt as if I owed you guys. Yuma saved me from the Number, so the least I could do was save one of you" he explained. Lennox smiled.

"I think your lying Shark. I think you still care."

"Yeah! So let me duel you then Shark! If I win, then you have to give up this revenge of yours" Yuma said. Shark then sighed.

"It looks like you won't give up easily, so I'll humour you. But what are you going to bet?" Shark said. Yuma looked down at the Emperor's Key before holding it up.

"I bet this" Yuma said as he showed it to Shark. Astral looked at Yuma in alarm.

"Yuma! That's-!"

"You shut up" Yuma interrupted. Shark smiled.

"Fine. But you'll regret it" he said ominously.

* * *

A few minutes later, Yuma and Shark were stood opposite each other on the newly developed highway. The rest of the group stood nearby, anxious for the upcoming duel.

"Man, I wonder if Yuma can really pull it off," Tetsuo said.

"No offence, but I doubt it. Shark made it all the way to the National Finals a few years back. And if Yuma is not using these Number thingies, then he's going to be in for a rough one" Kyoya stated.

"Well, we'll have to wait and see," Ruby said. There was a brief moment of silence before someone spoke again.

"Lennox, remember, our original bet still stands," Takashi said. Lennox looked at him.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I remember" Lennox said before turning back to the duel.

" _Yuma, don't screw this up."_

Yuma couldn't say he wasn't nervous, but he couldn't shake this awful feeling in his stomach that something bad was going to happen.

"Yuma," A voice said. Yuma turned to see Astral floating next to him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I already told you that this duel has nothing to do with you," Yuma told the astral being. "I won't be using Numbers in this duel, and I need to make Shark remember why we're friends." Astral looked at him slightly confused.

"Why use no Numbers?" Astral asked.

"Because Numbers can only be destroyed by other Numbers. If I used them it wouldn't be fair against Shark since he has none" Yuma explained.

"But wouldn't it make it easier to beat him using them?" Astral asked. Yuma growled in annoyance.

"You don't get it," he said with a raised voice. "This duel isn't about winning or losing, it's about honour. If I used Numbers in this duel then I would be going back on my word to Takashi, that's why I can't." Astral started at Yuma before finally replying.

"I see, then I will only spectate," he said, and floated back a bit to give Yuma some room.

Shark stared at his opponent's confident smile. He hated it. How was Yuma so confident? Shark could easily slaughter him in only a few turns. If the Numbers didn't show up, he would have won their last duel. so why didn't he?

Utopia.

Shark eagerly wanted to destroy that Number for causing his loss. He still remembered it. Yuma negating his own attack, using Double Or Nothing and attacking Nightmare Shark with a 5000 attack point Utopia. Maybe he really wanted this? Maybe it was a good idea to accept Yuma's rematch. It might give him some peace.

"You see troubled" A voice bellowed. Shark instantly recognised this voice.

"I'm fine Leviathan Dragon" Shark simply said.

"Why do you push them away?" The 17th Number asked. This question caught Shark off guard.

"Because…I don't need them" Shark answered.

"I don't think so, I think you're afraid of losing them like your sister. That's why you push them away, so they won't get hurt" Leviathan Dragon said. Shark let out a small gasp but regained his composure.

"Hmph, that's your opinion" Shark huffed as he got out his D-Pad.

"Duel Disk, set!" Yuma and Shark yelled as they tossed their D-Pads into the air. Both D-Pads then transformed and changed into duel disks. The duel disks clacked onto the duelist's wrists as they got out their D-Gazers. "D-Gazer, set!" Both then placed their D-Gazer on their left eyes as the AR vision soon surrounded them.

 **AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED  
**

The rest of the group placed on their D-Gazers whilst Ruby's eye glowed as it connected to the system.

 **DUEL!**

 **Yuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

"Let's go! My turn! Draw!" Yuma called out as he drew his first card.

 **TURN: 1**

 **Yuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Gogogo Golem!" Announced Yuma as the ground cracked open to allow one of his most signature monsters to climb out. It was a large green robot with a single red eye. Funnily enough, it looked like a walking grenade with large blue arms and feet.

 **Gogogo Golem: Level 4/EARTH/Rock/1800 ATK/1500 DEF**

"Be careful Yuma, he uses very strong monsters" Astral advised, remembering Big Jaws and Jawsman from Yuma's previous duel against Shark.

"I got it already," Yuma said dismissingly. He already knew that and had the perfect countermeasure. "I set one card facedown," Yuma said as the set card appeared. "I can't attack the first turn, so, turn end!" Yuma concluded. He then looked at his set card. _"My set card is Battle Break. This card can destroy one attacking monster and end the battle phase. So come at me Shark! I'm ready for you!"  
_

The rest of the group looked on in anxiousness. The first move had been made.

"I wonder why he put it in attack mode?" Takashi wondered. "Gogogo Golem may have high attack power, but its true strength lies in its defensive ability. To summarize, it is best played in defence mode."

"Maybe Yuma has a plan with that set card of his?" Lennox suggested. While it wasn't out of the ordinary for Yuma to make a play like this, the fact that he had gotten better and now understood most of the effects of his monsters should have meant that he would have played Gogogo Golem in defence mode. This move, however, made Yuma unpredictable.

"Maybe he's just trying to confuse Shark by being unpredictable?" Kotori suggested.

"Or maybe he's still an idiot," Kyoya said heartlessly.

Lennox looked at him angrily.

"Kyoya!" He yelled, angry at the fact Kyoya, who was supposed to be Yuma's friend, had just insulted the latter.

"What?" Kyoya asked with raised eyebrows. "You know I'm right. Yuma may be a nice guy and all, but when it comes to duelling, he's an idiot."

"I hate to say it, but Kyoya's right" Tetsuo sighed. "But Yuma has defiantly improved, so we don't know for sure."

"I hope you're right," Lennox said to himself as he turned back to the duel.

 **Yuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

"My turn! Draw!" Shark announced as he began his turn.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Friller Rabca!" Called Shark as a small yellow frilled shot out from a column of water that had come from the sea beneath the highway.

 **Friller Rabca: Level 3/WATER/Fish/700 ATK/1500 DEF**

"Friller Rabca…700 attack points. What is he planning?" Astral murmured to himself.

"Next I special summon Shark Stickers!" Shark announced. Another column of water rose out the sea and another figure flew out of it. This time it was a small blue Shark with suction cups on the top of its head that appeared to be a cross between a shark and a remora.

 **Shark Stickers: Level 3/WATER/Fish/200 ATK/1000 DEF**

"Since I summoned a Fish type monster, I can special summon this card from my hand" Shark explained.

"There are two level 3 monsters," Astral said in wonder. Yuma's eyes went wide with shock.

"Don't tell me…" he began in disbelief.

"I overlay my level 3 Friller Rabca and Shark Stickers!" Shark announced as both monsters turned fully blue and shot up into the air as streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark announced as a red spiral portal opened up in front of him and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" The monster burst through the portal was a pair of sharks attached to an orange frame with sets of wings on it that enabled it to fly, and a black compartment under each wing that held the monster's missiles.

 **Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/1900 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Woah, a first turn Xyz summon," Tetsuo said in awe.

"That's nothing," Lennox told him. "Me and Ruby have seen Shark duel at full power and it's not pretty" He grimaced as he remembered when Shark duelled Fuma.

"I guess Yuma's in for a rough time then" Kyoya mused. Meanwhile, Yuma stared at Shark's new monster in slight fear.

"1900 attack points, higher than Gogogo Golem" he gasped as he checked the monster's stats. "But my trap card will stop Shark's attack."

"I activate Aero Shark's effect!" Declared Shark as the monster absorbed one of its circling overlay units, sending a shower of light down at Shark.

 **Aero Shark Overlay Units: 1**

"Once per turn, I can use one overlay unit to inflict 400 points of damage to my opponent for every card in my hand." Shark then held up his hand. "I'm holding four cards currently so that 1600 points of damage!"

"What?!" Cried Yuma as Aero Shark let out a roar before firing 4 small pods at Yuma. Each pod then burst open which revealed 4 small gold missiles inside. The four missiles then rocketed towards Yuma, exploding as they impacted the ground. Yuma braced himself as the explosions hit him, sporting a determined look on his face. There was no way he was giving up this easily!

 **Yuma: 4000 – 1600 = 2400**

The rest of the group looked on with concern as they watched Yuma's life drop, worried for their friend after he had taken such a large hit.

"Next I activate the spell Mystical Space Typhoon!" Shark yelled as he activated the card. "This card can destroy one spell or trap card on the field" Shark explained as a tornado suddenly blew across the field.

"Ah! My trap was…" Yuma said despairingly as he reached out to his trap, only to see it get crushed by the gale force winds of the Mystical Space Typhoon. He had no way to defend himself.

"Go, Aero Shark! Attack Gogogo Golem!" The giant flying Shark followed its master's order as it flew down at Gogogo Golem at an alarming speed and swept it up off its feet, destroying it. Yuma cried out in pain as the resulting force sent him flying off his feet.

 **Yuma: 2400 – 100 = 2300**

"I end my turn with that" Shark said as he watched Yuma struggle to get up off the ground.

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

"Woah, he dropped Yuma's life all the way to 2300 in a single turn," Takashi said in awe.

"Man, Shark is impossibly strong after all!" Tetsuo said.

"On top of that, he wiped out Yuma's entire field too" Ruby added.

"Come on Yuma, pull through" Lennox murmured. Shark was unimpressed. This was going even worse than his first duel with Yuma. Granted he could have dealt more damage with Aqua Jet in his hand, he couldn't use it yet. He needed Yuma to call out his Numbers.

"What's wrong?" He taunted. Maybe taunting Yuma would get him to bring out his Numbers. "I thought you wanted to show me the true meaning of duelling? All you've done is shown me how weak you are" Shark continued. Yuma finally stood up and stared at Shark. "You know you can't win at this rate, so summon your Numbers!" Yuma looked at Shark in confusion. Why did Shark want to face the Numbers? He didn't have one, so he would be at a huge disadvantage.

"What's Shark doing? He knows that Numbers can only beat other Numbers? So why is he bating Yuma to summon one?" Tetsuo asked.

"Because" Lennox began, gaining everyone's attention. "Shark has found the Numbers weakness."

"Come one! Summon one of them! Did you really think you could beat me without your Numbers?" Shark called out to Yuma. Yuma closed his eyes in frustration and growled. What should he do? He then opened them. No! He had to stay true to his promise.

"No! I said I wouldn't be using a Number in this duel and I still don't intend to!" Yuma yelled as he then drew his next card.

 **TURN: 3**

 **Yuma: 2300**

 **Hand: 5**

Yuma's eyes widened as he saw the card he drew.

" _This is…"_ he thought before picking out another card.

"I summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma's second monster was his signature chain bound magician. The magician had white hair and wore black robes with a flame pattern and the Gagaga crest on his back. He also had a chain that wrapped around his body and held his gold plate that acted as a belt in place.

 **Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 ATK/1000 DEF**

 _"Gagaga Magician's effect lets me change its level from 1 to 8 each turn. Also, I have bound wand in my hand. This lets me increase the attack points of one Spellcaster monster I control by its level times 100. With this, I can start a comeback!"_ Yuma though as he went to put his plan into action.

"Now I activate the equip spell, Bound Wand!" A black wand with a small skull on it and a red gem attached on top then materialised onto the field which Gagaga Magician took hold of. "This card increases the equipped monster's attack power by its level times 100!" Then the end of the wand then changed so that it became a sword which Gagaga Magician swung around.

 **Gagaga Magician ATK: 1500 + 400 = 1900**

"1900 attack points," said Shark. "Are you planning on crashing?"

"Hardly!" Retorted Yuma. "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect! Once a turn, I can change its level from 1 to 8. I make Gagaga Magician level 8!"

 **Gagaga Magician Level: 4 – 8**

"And now because of Bound Wand, Gagaga Magician's attack power goes up!"

 **Gagaga Magician ATK: 1900 + 400 = 2300**

"Now Gagaga Magician! Attack Aero Shark!" Ordered Yuma. Gagaga Magician then charged directly at the war machine, raising the blade of his wand up high.

" _I could negate this attack with Friller Rabca"_ Shark thought as he reached for his graveyard. _"But…I need to weaken Utopia."_ With great force, the magician brought the blade down on the shark, destroying it, and knocking Shark back.

 **Shark: 4000 – 400 = 3600**

"I end my turn with that!" Announced Yuma with the wave of his hand.

"Don't forget" Shark began as he recovered. "Gagaga Magician's effect ends. So its level returns to 4, and its attack reverts back to 1900." A red aura briefly surrounded Gagaga Magician before disappearing, signalling its decrease in power.

 **Gagaga Magician Level: 8 – 4**

 **Gagaga Magican ATK: 2300 – 400 = 1900**

 **Yuma: 2300**

 **Hand: 3**

"Not bad" commented Kyoya. "He managed to get rid of Aero Shark and deal some damage too."

"Yeah, but it's going to be difficult for him to even things up with his life points being much lower than Shark's," Takashi said.

"Yuma will find a way, I know it," Lennox told the others.

"How are you certain?" Takashi asked.

"I just have a hunch," Lennox said. Meanwhile, Yuma was smiling at his accomplishment.

"You see Shark! I can beat you without a Number! And this proves it!" Shark then began to laugh.

"Are you kidding? 400 points of damage is no skin off my teeth! I can counter that with my eyes closed!" Shark retorted as he drew his next card.

 **TURN: 4**

 **Shark: 3600**

 **Hand: 4**

"I summon Big Jaws!" Shark announced as a vortex of water began to swirl around on the field. Out of the vortex soon came Shark's signature steel-jawed shark that let out a ferocious roar upon its arrival.

 **Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF**

"1800 attack points…" breathed Yuma as he stared at the new arrival. "But it can't beat my Gagaga Magician!" He then declared boldly. Shark let out a small chuckle.

"Yuma, did you forget about my spell combo?" He asked.

"Spell combo?" Yuma said in wonder. His eyes then widened in horror as it dawned on him what Shark meant. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" Yelled Shark as he slapped another card onto his duel disk. "I activate Aqua Jet! Which will give my Big Jaws a boost by 1000!" Just like in their first duel, the two turbine engines attached themselves to Big Jaws and upped its attack power.

 **Big Jaws ATK: 1800 + 1000 = 2800**

"Big Jaws! Attack Gagaga Magician! Big Mouth!" Shark orders. The two turbine engines propelled Big Jaws high into the air before it came crashing back down, tunnelling underground. Gagaga Magician gave a horrified look when he saw Big Jaws' bladed fin creeping towards him. With the ferocity of a great white shark, Big Jaws erupted out of the ground, it's jaws crushing Gagaga Magician.

 **Yuma: 2300 – 900 = 1400**

Astral couldn't watch this any longer, he had to do something.

"Yuma! Use Bound Wand's effect!" He suddenly said.

"Huh? What?" Yuma asked.

"It is obvious that you cannot defeat Shark alone, and with the key, at stake, I cannot afford you to lose, so let me help you" Astral explained.

"I told you I don't need you to help me, but I'll use the tip anyway" Yuma huffed. "I use Bound Wand's effect! Which is… what?" Astral facepalmed at this.

"To revive the equipped monster. Honestly, you really need to read all the effects of your cards" he said.

"Oh, ok. I revive Gagaga Magician!" The magician soon rose out of the graveyard portal with the mighty cry of 'Gagaga'.

 **Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 ATK/1000 DEF**

"So you brought back your monster? Then you did listen to me. You're planning on summoning a Number next turn" Shark said with a smile.

"You're wrong!" Protested Yuma. "I gave my word to Takashi that I wouldn't summon a Number and I intend on keeping it!" Shark laughed.

"Are you serious? Wake up Yuma! You can't win against me or anyone without a Number! Besides, a victory against you would mean something if I defeated your Number!" Shark argued back. Yuma looked torn at what to do. Was Shark really right? Could he not win without Utopia?

"Yuma," a voice said. Yuma turned towards its source which was Astral. "I know you said that using Numbers in this duel would go against your honour, but that is not important right now. The most important thing is to protect the Emperor's Key. So you must win at all costs. And to do that is to summon the Numbers."

"I end my turn" declared Shark.

 **Shark: 3600**

 **Hand: 2**

Yuma was hesitant to draw. He had no idea of what to do. To use or not to use Utopia was the question in his head. The others looked on with concern.

"Yuma…" Kotori said with concern.

"Man, he's really struggling out there," Tetsuo said.

"Yeah, he doesn't know what to do," Lennox said. "He can't decide to use a Number or not." Back at the duel, Shark was beginning to get impatient.

"What's wrong? It's your turn! So draw you card and summon your Number! Summon it!" He roared. Yuma began to buckle under the pressure.

"Yuma-" Astral began, by Yuma.

"Fine! You want my Number so bad?! Then I'll do it! Draw!" He yelled angrily.

 **TURN: 5**

 **Yuma: 1400**

 **Hand: 4**

Yuma looked at the card he drew before placing it on his duel disk.

"I summon Ganbara Knight!" A warrior clad in a brown armour with yellow lining and carrying two enormous shields on both arms came crashing down from the sky, causing a large crater to form.

 **Ganbara Knight: Level 4/EARTH/Warrior/0 ATK/1800 DEF**

Astral was very surprised by this move.

"Wait! Yuma-"

"Shut up!" Yuma yelled at the astral being. "I'll summon Utopia if it will shut your yap! I know protecting the key is important."

"No that's not what I-" Astral went to say, but was cut off by Yuma yet again.

"I overlay my level 4 Gagaga Magician and Ganbara Knight!" The two monsters glowed their attribute colours, being black and orange respectively, and flew up into the air as streams of energy. Lennox's eyes widened.

"No Yuma! Don't do it!" He called. His pleas fell on deaf ears as the infamous golden galactic portal opened up at Yuma's feet.

"With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Yuma declared as the two monsters sailed in, followed a burst of golden light. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Number 39: Utopia!" The Number 39 appeared and flashed red before the Number's sealed for rose out the portal. Its sealed form was a glowing orb encased in a strange sword-like structure that was covered by a pair of folded metal wings. The entire structure oddly resembled Yuma's key slightly. The wings then opened up and straightened out whilst the strange structure began to form a body. The arms extended out and shoulder pads formed, with the red 39 being on the monsters left shoulder pad. The gold armour opened up to reveal the monster's stomach with the glowing orb now fittingly being placed in the centre of the monster's chest. The face mask then parted as two horns were produced on the monster's head. The final result of the transformation was a knight covered in white and gold armour with two curved swords attached to his hips and white wings attached to his back. Along with that, it had a glass orb in the middle of its chest and a red 39 on its left shoulder pad. It gave a loud battle cry as it took the field with two yellow overlay units orbiting it.

 **Number 39: Utopia: Rank 4/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2500 ATK/2000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

Everyone was too stunned to say a word on the appearance of the majestic warrior. Finally, Kotori spoke up.

"Yuma summoned a Number?"

"But he promised he wouldn't use one…" Tetsuo trailed off.

"To summarize, I was right, Yuma is still relying on Numbers in his duels," Takashi said. Lennox hung his head in defeat.

"Ugh! I lost the bet. Yuma, why did you have to go and do that?" He said. Unbeknownst to him, Dawn Sword had materialised behind him and stared at Utopia. The 39th Number noticed this and gave a quick glance at Dawn Sword who only nodded in response before fading away.

"Finally, it's here. The Number I've been waiting for" Shark said. "I'm actually getting fired up now."

"Go Utopia! Attack Big Jaws!" Yuma commanded. His ace followed the command almost instantly with raising an eyebrow under his face mask. Utopia drew his sword from its scabbard which disappeared after Utopia touched the blade's handle. He then tossed the blade high up into the air before catching the handle.

"Your attacking when my Big Jaws has higher points? You must have lost it" Shark said.

"Actually, I'm playing a quick-play spell!" Announced Yuma as he held up the card in question. "Ego Boost increases Utopia's attack points by 1000 since it declared an attack!" A huge shadow of Utopia appeared behind himself as he caught the blade he had tossed earlier.

 **Utopia ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500**

"Rising Sun Slash!" Yelled Yuma as Utopia raised his sword high, a bright glow coming from it.

"Naïve!" Yelled Shark as he moved his arm to his side. "I activate Friller Rabca's effect from the graveyard! By banishing it, I can negate an attack on a Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua type monster I control!" The graveyard portal opened up and a stream of blue energy shot out of it, impacting Utopia as it attempted to bring its sword down on Big Jaws.

"What?!" Cried Yuma as his attack was stopped instantly.

"Now the attacking monster loses 500 attack points" Shark continued. Utopia groaned in pain as his power then dropped.

 **Utopia ATK: 3500 – 500 = 3000**

Yuma stared open mouthed at what had just transpired.

"Unbelievable. This human managed to stop me" Utopia said as he looked at Shark.

"Shark managed to stop my attack cold," Yuma said with a hollow voice. "And on top of that, lower Utopia's attack power. I can't do anything."

"Remember, your Ego Boost only works until the end of the battle phase. Now since its over, Utopia's attack points drop down to 2000" Shark said as Utopia's shadow disappeared.

 **Utopia ATK: 3000 – 1000 = 2000**

"No way. Shark managed to stop Utopia cold" Tetsuo said in disbelief.

"And on top of that, he now has a stronger monster than Yuma's Number" Lennox added.

"That's typical Shark for you, always being one step ahead," Kyoya said.

"Interesting, he's been waiting for this moment," Astral said. Yuma looked at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Shark detached Friller Rabca on his first turn using Aero Shark's effect. He could have protected it from Gagaga Magician's attack but didn't" Astral explained whilst Yuma's eyes widened. "On top of that, I've been observing his hand as well" Astral continued. "He didn't draw Aqua Jet last turn, he had it in his hand from the beginning."

"From the beginning?" Yuma repeated before it all came crashing down on him. "He was holding back."

"Exactly" Astral simply said. He wanted to tell Yuma of his mistake but decided to wait to see how the duel played out first. Yuma turned to Shark. "You were waiting for this weren't you!" He yelled. Shark looked at him slightly confused. "Not stopping my attack and purposely not using Aqua Jet on Aero Shark. You just wanted me to summon Utopia just to destroy it and get back at me! Right?!" Shark then chuckled.

"That's right. I held back on purpose to lure your Number out. I'd only get satisfaction from this if I beat Utopia! And judging by this, you played right into my hands!" Shark then explained.

"Then that means…" Kotori began.

"This entire time…" Ruby continued.

"Shark has been in control of the entire duel from his first turn," Lennox said. He clenched his fists. This proved that Shark was not just stronger than Yuma, he was the strongest of them all. He had defeated the Duel Blood when Lennox couldn't, wielded two Numbers and had found their weakness.

"This is unreal. How can someone be so powerful?" Kyoya said. "I knew Shark was good, but this is too much."

"No kidding" Takashi said. Back at the duel, Yuma was slightly stuck on what to do, but he tried to keep himself calm.

"You may have been holding back earlier, but I still have a chance. You can't beat Utopia without a Number, and with Utopia's Moon Barrier ability, I can block all your attacks remember" Yuma said confidently. This was good, Utopia wasn't just a strong attacker. He was a good defensive monster too. Yuma was confident that he could hold off Shark's next assault.

"Master, I wouldn't be so sure," Utopia said. "Granted I'm an almost impenetrable shield, this Human has more skill than I have seen in a long time. You must be wary."

"I got it Utopia," Yuma said and turned back to Shark.

"Ha! I wouldn't get so confident Yuma. I can easily get around your Utopia's defences, just watch!" Shark said with a grin.

"Fine! With this, I end my turn!" Yuma announced.

 **Yuma: 1400**

 **Hand: 3**

"My turn! I draw!" Shark announced.

 **TURN: 6**

 **Shark: 3600**

 **Hand: 3**

"I summon Drill Barnacle!" The ground cracked open to pave way for Shark's familiar direct attacker, a large barnacle with purple drills inside it.

 **Drill Barnacle: Level 3/WATER/Aqua/300 ATK/0 DEF**

"Why would Shark use that?" Tetsuo wondered. "Granted it can attack directly, Utopia can just negate its attack as well as Big Jaws' attack." Lennox the noticed something.

"Shark, don't tell me you're going to summon _that_ monster." The others looked at him.

"I overlay my level 3 Big Jaws and Drill Barnacle!" Shark declared as the two monsters turned fully blue and shot up into the air as energy spirals.

"Eh?! He's trading in Big Jaws?!" Ruby cried in confusion.

"No way!" Cried Yuma as the red Xyz portal opened in front of Shark.

"With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark yelled as the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Rise! Black Ray Lancer!" A purple stream of energy shot out of the portal before dispersing to reveal Shark's ace. A black scaled merman warrior with large amphibious wings and black armour with a twin-bladed spear.

 **Black Ray Lancer: Rank 3/DARK/Beast-Warrior/2100 ATK/600 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Interesting. How does he plan to battle Utopia with this" Astral said to himself.

"I play Xyz Treasure!" Shark called. "I now draw one card for every Xyz monster on the field. There's two, so I draw two!" Shark then drew two and smirked. "Utopia is finished with this! I activate Black Ray Lancer's effect. By using one overlay unit, the effects of one monster are negated!"

"What?!" Cried Yuma as Black Ray Lancer absorbed one of its circling overlay units into its spear.

"Paralyzing Lance!" Black Ray Lancer's wings crackled with purple electricity before it shot the electricity at Utopia, causing him to weaken.

"Impossible, he found out how to defeat me!" Utopia cried in disbelief.

"Even if Numbers can't be destroyed by other Numbers, it is only a mere card effect and can be negated easily! Allowing the Number to be destroyed!" Shark explained. Utopia's body crackled with electricity as its effects were lost.

"How…How could this be? Utopia's Number effect was negated?" Yuma said in disbelief.

"Go! Black Ray Lancer! Black Spear!" Black Ray Lancer's spear glowed purple as the merman warrior swung it around before hurling it towards Utopia, striking the winged warrior dead centre in his chest.

"Forgive me…my masters" Utopia said weakly before bursting into gold particles.

"UTOPIA!" Cried Yuma as he watched his strongest monster disappear, not caring one bit about his lifepoints.

 **Yuma: 1400 – 100 = 1300**

Yuma fell to his knees in defeat.

"Utopia…was defeated…" he said weakly.

"This boy…he has discovered the Numbers weakness," Astral said to himself.

"I activate **Xyz Blast**!" Shark yelled as he activated the quick-play spell. "Since I destroyed a Xyz monster, you take 800 points of damage!" An explosion then sent Yuma hurtling back and crashing down on the asphalt hard.

 **Yuma: 1300 – 800 = 500**

"I end my turn with that" Shark said. He had finally done it. He had defeated the monster that had caused him so much pain over the past few days, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Now that Utopia had been vanquished, Shark could finally have some peace.

 **Shark: 3600**

 **Hand: 2**

Yuma couldn't believe it. After how hard he tried, he was going to lose. All of this was for nothing.

"I can't win," he said. "Shark is too powerful. I only beat him because the Number possessed him." He looked at his hand. "Have I improved at all?" He asked. Astral, at this point, decided to help his partner.

"You have improved," he said. Yuma looked at him. "While you still have several flaws, you are slowly correcting them, and you are far stronger than when I first met you. This duel will teach you this too."

"But how?" Asked Yuma.

"Continue and find out" Astral simply said. Yuma looked back at his hand.

"I don't think I can," he said and shut his eyes in remorse.

"Don't give up Yuma!" A voice suddenly called out. Yuma's eyes shot open and he turned towards the source and saw it was Lennox who yelled.

"Lennox…" he breathed.

"You have to keep fighting! For your sake and your friend 'Astral'!" Lennox continued. Shark had now turned his attention to Lennox, interested in what the boy had to say. "After watching this duel, I understand what Shark's words meant" Lennox began, thinking back to his conversation with Shark after the Duel Blood's defeat. "This duel reminds me of the one I almost lost and seeing you almost give up hurts me. You of all people should know not when to give up." He then turned to Shark. "And neither should I. What use is it for us to give up fighting for the ones we care about? That's why I've decided now…I can't give up again! And neither should you!"

Everyone stared in silence at Lennox's speech, even Shark was surprised. Lennox, of all people, said that. He then let out a small chuckle.

" _So he finally gets it? Good, my debt to Yuma for saving me has been repaid"_ he thought.

"He's right," Yuma said. The words caught Shark's attention. "I can't give up. I have to keep going! And kattobingu!" Astral smiled.

"It appears your fire of passion has been reignited. Come Yuma! Let us win this duel!" He said.

"Yeah!" Answered Yuma as he reached for the top card of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"

 **TURN: 7**

 **Yuma: 500**

 **Hand: 4**

Yuma stared at the card he drew. Monster Reborn.

" _Thank you, my deck. You haven't given up on me either"_ he thought.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" Yuma announced. "This allows me to summon one monster from the graveyard! And I think you can guess who? Return! Utopia!" The graveyard portal opened up and the winged warrior rose out of it, letting out a loud battle cry as he took the field.

 **Number 39: Utopia: Rank 4/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2500 ATK/2000 DEF/Overlay Units: 0**

"Thank you for allowing me another chance my master," the Number said.

"No problem!" Yuma replied with a smile. "Now attack Black Ray Lancer!"

"With pleasure master!" Utopia replied with equal enthusiasm as he tossed one of his twin swords high into the air. Utopia then caught the blade and held it up high as he charged at Black Ray Lancer. With a single sword swipe, the merman warrior was vanquished, and honour had returned to the Utopia.

 **Shark: 3600 – 400 = 3200**

"I end my turn!" Yuma declared. He was confident now that with Utopia on his field, he couldn't lose.

"It's my turn now! Draw!" Announced Shark.

 **TURN: 8**

 **Shark: 3200**

 **Hand: 3**

Shark studied his hand and then looked at Yuma. "It's over Yuma, I win," he said. Yuma was surprised.

"Huh? Whaddya mean _you win_?" He asked.

"Just watch!" Shark called as he placed a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Needle Sunfish!" Lennox and Ruby immediately recognised the blue sunfish that was armed with hundreds of needles that were hidden away by its jaws.

 **Needle Sunfish: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1500 ATK/500 DEF**

"Now I activate the spell Surface! This lets me summon a level 3 fish, sea serpent or aqua monster back to the field in defence mode! Return! Big Jaws!" The graveyard portal opened up to let a vortex of water rise out of it with Big Jaws inside. The shark let out a roar as it prepared for battle.

 **Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF**

"Woah! Shark's got two level 3 monsters again!" Exclaimed Tetsuo.

"It can't be!" Exclaimed Kyoya. Yuma just prepared himself for the worst.

"I overlay my level 3 Big Jaws and Needle Sunfish!" Shark declared as the two monsters turned blue and shot up into the air as streams of energy. Yuma felt his jaw drop when he saw the golden galaxy portal open at Shark's feet. Astral was even surprised at this. The group, spare Ruby and Lennox, looked on in shock as Shark went to Xyz summon a Number card. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" The two monsters then flew into the portal. "Xyz summon! Come! Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!" Shark yelled as a yellow 17 pulsed on his right hand. There was a burst of golden light, followed by the flash of the number 17 before the monster's sealed form rose out the portal. A cloud of purple fog had gathered as the coil wires began to unravel. Slowly but surely, the coil wires transformed into the monster's serpentine body while the six scythes on top of the structure had become six large wings. The red jewel that was in the middle of the structure became the dragon's head with six horns and the number 17 on one of them. With a high-pitched roar, Number 17 had arrived.

 **Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: Rank 3/WATER/Dragon/Xyz/2000 ATK/0 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Shark…has a Number?" Was all Yuma managed to get out as he was still in a state of shock.

"I never thought that this boy would be able to find and wield another Number," Astral said, clearly just as surprised as Yuma was.

"But…I thought Shark didn't have another Number" Takashi said.

"He did have another, he got it recently during a duel with some gang leader he knew" Lennox explained. "The gang leader had a Number, but Shark summoned this one and beat him."

"And where is that Number now?" Kyoya asked.

"Shark has it" Ruby answered.

"Wait! You mean Shark has two of them?" Kotori asked.

"Yep. I guess Shark wanted to try and beat Yuma's Numbers with his own strength, but couldn't" Lennox said. Back in the duel, Utopia eyed down Leviathan Dragon.

"I see this is the form you have taken Number 17" Utopia spoke.

"Yes, I believe it is fitting for a Number of my power" Leviathan Dragon replied. He then scoffed at Utopia's form. "It's a pity you're still trying to show off that Shield of Astral World title you have. You could have had a more powerful form."

"At least I'm doing my job unlike the rest of you. The first chance you got, and you all jumped free of the seal. Now it's up to me and Dawn Sword to put you all back into place" Utopia huffed. The 17th Number growled.

"Hey! Was it my fault that we were released?! No, it wasn't! so don't try and pin the blame on us! We just needed to feed! That's all!"

"Hey! A little less arguing, and a little more duelling!" Shark yelled annoyed.

"Right, sorry" Leviathan Dragon apologised. Utopia raised an eyebrow behind his face mask.

"Wait, you aren't controlling him?" He asked.

"No! The Human's will is stronger than I thought. I can't control him for long enough" Leviathan Dragon explained.

"Then Shark is fine?" Asked Yuma.

"Yes, he's doing this all on his free will. I have no say in this" Leviathan Dragon told Yuma.

"Observation Number 16: Some Humans possess a will strong enough to prevent a Number's control. But just how many Numbers can they control?" Astral murmured to himself.

"Let's just get this over with!" Yelled Shark as he raised his hand. "I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect! By using an Overlay Unit, I can increase his attack power by 500 points!"

 **Leviathan Dragon Overlay Units: 1**

 **Leviathan Dragon ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500**

"Now its attack power is equal to Utopia's," Yuma said.

"Not for long!" Called Shark as the graveyard portal opened. "I activate Needle Sunfish's effect from the graveyard! Since it was sent there, Utopia loses 500 attack points!" A barrage of needles suddenly flew out the portal and hit Utopia. Each needle let out an explosion on contact, lowering Utopia's attack points.

"Utopia!" Cried Yuma.

 **Utopia ATK: 2500 – 500 = 2000**

"Now Utopia's attack points are back to 2000," Kyoya said.

"And Leviathan Dragon gained 500 attack points" Ruby added.

"Now there's a difference of 500 between them, which is all Yuma has left. To summarize, he loses" Takashi finished. Yuma stared at Leviathan Dragon's intimidating form of defeat. He had lost. After all his hard work he still couldn't win.

"Leviathan Dragon! End this now! Vice Stream!" Leviathan Dragon let out a swirling blue energy beam which slammed into Utopia.

"Sorry Utopia, but it looks like I'm the better Number" Leviathan Dragon boasted. Utopia could only look at Leviathan Dragon from inside the energy beam as he was thrown back. Then nothing.

"Utopia!" Yuma cried as he watched his ace monster explode before being thrown back by the explosion.

 **Yuma: 500 – 500 = 0**

 **Yuma: LOSE**

"That was easy," Shark said as he took off his D-Gazer, letting the augmented reality vanish.

"To summarize, it was a one-sided battle. Shark had full control" Takashi said.

"Poor Yuma. Even after that slight comeback, Shark still won" Lennox said.

"You're kidding me," Yuma said quietly. "I tried so hard but still I couldn't win."

"Actually…you could have" Astral said. Yuma looked at him. "You only lost because you rushed to summon Utopia, thinking it was the best solution to the situation. You should have looked at all the other options you have at your arsenal" Astral explained.

"Oh yeah? Well, how would you have done it?!" Yuma yelled angrily.

"Simple, I would have used another Number" Astral stated. Yuma was about to retort when he realised what Astral meant.

"Instead of summoning Ganbara Knight, you should have summoned Zubaba Knight instead." Yuma's eyes widened. He did have Zubaba Knight in his hand. "You could have then used Gagaga Magician's effect to make it level 3, and then Xyz summoned Nightmare Shark. Using its effect with Ego Boost, you could have dealt a large amount of damage to Shark's lifepoints, all while avoiding Friller Rabca." Yuma then began to realise what Astral was saying. He _did_ rush ahead with summoning Utopia.

"But Shark would have summoned Black Ray Lancer and defeat Nightmare Shark, so what's the point?" He asked the Astral being.

"Then he would have played right into your hands. Shark would have had to summon Black Ray Lancer or his Number to defeat Nightmare Shark. If he didn't, then you would have won on the next turn with Nightmare Shark's effect" Astral explained. "Your next card was Monster Reborn, wasn't it? You could have used that to revive Gagaga Magician and then overlay it with Ganbara Knight in your hand to summon Utopia, whom you could have used to defeat Black Ray Lancer or stall against Leviathan Dragon, depending on the situation. Now, look at your next card." Yuma drew the top card of the deck and his eyes widened when he saw it.

Double Or Nothing

"Wait, don't tell me I could have…" He trailed off after thinking of what he could have done next.

"Exactly, you could have pulled off the same combo you did in your last duel and won. I didn't help you as I wanted to see how you would fare on your own" Astral explained. Yuma knelt down and punched the ground.

"Damn it! After all, that's happened I still can't win by myself!" He yelled to himself.

"Use this as a learning experience. Think about the mistakes you have made today and learn from them for the future" Astral advised. Shark walked over to Yuma.

"Tch! Losing to a duelist like you and almost giving up on everything…" Shark began. "How laughable" he finished as he yanked the key from Yuma's neck. "As promised, I'll be taking this" Shark said as he tossed the key up once and turned to walk off. He stopped after taking a few steps, thinking of Leviathan Dragon's earlier words. "This thing…its not even worth destroying," Shark said as he tossed the key over his shoulder, causing it to land in front of Yuma with a loud clang.

Shark resumed walking when he was stopped by Yuma calling out his name.

"Wait for Shark! Why are you doing this?" Shark turned back towards Yuma and looked at him with a serious glare.

"Because I need peace Yuma. Once I pay those assholes back for what they did to Rio, I can finally move on with my life" Shark explained. The others looked on with concern. "At least you and Lennox took a page out of my book and kept on going, striving to never give up. That was my debt to you for saving me from that Number. I'd help you two find your determination again" Shark explained, his eyes now turning to Lennox. "But stay out of my way. That was my one and only favour to you for saving me." Shark turned and continued to walk. "And if you get in my way…" he trailed off ominously. "…I'll crush you both." All Lennox and Yuma could do was to watch Shark walk away in the setting evening sun.

 _Author Made Cards_

 **Xyz Blast**

 _Quick-Play Spell_

 _Effect: Activate at the end of your battle phase if you destroyed a Xyz monster by battle this turn. Inflict 800 points of damage to your opponent for every Xyz monster destroyed by battle this turn._

* * *

 **Phew! Glad I got this done. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year because I sure did. I wanted to get this out before Christmas, but visiting family ended up happening and I ended up playing Zelda on my new Nintendo Switch and then watching My Hero Academia for the rest of the holiday. I actually got something planned for My Hero Academia which I will write at a later date, but for now, I'd like to stick to this and my VRAINS fic which I'm dying to update. Problem is that I'm trying to think of character designs.  
**

 **I've got one already and a canon character that appears recently got theirs. I'll leave you to guess who it is. Other than that, I've 3 more to do and then the main group is done. I've got most of their deck done to so it only a matter of time** **. Also, OPfan, I know how much you love exact victories and I could help but do it again this chapter for you. That's the whole reason I made Xyz Blast. I originally planned for Shark to bet Yuma with Hyper Armoured Xyz, but I did that last chapter and I didn't think it would be too appealing. Anyway! Enough rambling from me! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you did, leave a review why. Other than that, I'll see you all in the next update.  
**

 **Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Unravelled Plan**

It was another sunny day in Heartland. People were out and about, young children played in the parks, and litterbots went about cleaning the pavements. All of this happened while a figure walked slowly down a flight of stairs in darkness. He had blue eyes and raised light blue hair with a slick of green hair that fell down his forehead. His attire consisted of an extravagant green jacket with black sleeves and white cuffs. The jack also had eight red gems on it, four by the neck, and four going across his chest. Additionally, he had an embroidery by his lower abdomen that looked similar to a spider. He wore white trousers that were hidden by long black socks that were similar to leg warmer socks that went down his legs and white shoes.

He soon reached the bottom of the staircase and gave a disgusted look at the torn-up entrance of the bar in front of him. Never the less, he composed himself and walked to the door. When he opened the door, he could see most of the gang members were huddled around a table where a duel was going on. There was a massive uproar and the sound of a fist hitting the table. One of the players had just lost.

"Hey Naoko, you want next game?" A small red-haired gang member asked who was leaning against the wall. He had red hair and wore a sleeveless top with the words R and K on it.

"Actually, I'd like next game," the strange boy asked. All the gang members turned to see the oddly dressed boy in front of them.

"What the hell? I told the bosses we should've put a lock on that door. First those kids and now _this_ punk?" the small gang member said.

"Ah, your bosses," the boy said with a smooth voice. "Rikuo and Kaio, better known as Scorch and Chills. I'd like to see them."

"Like hell, you will," the small gang member said as he and the other members surrounded the boy. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here punk."

The boy then chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you heard me correctly. I'd like to see Scorch and Chills, I have business with them" the boy said with a bit more force behind his words. This caused the gang members to laugh.

" _You_ , have business with the bosses? What a joke!" The small gang member laughed. He then put his hand on the boy's shoulder after the laughter had died down. "Now why don't you be a good kid and scamper back home to mommy?" He asked teasingly. The boy had his head lowered so his eyes couldn't be seen. The then grabbed the gang members wrist and removed it from his shoulder, slowly turning it around. The gang member gave a yelp of pain as a terrible cracking noise came from his wrist as he turned it.

"I've hurt a lot of people in my life. Do you want to be the next one?" The boy said as he lifted his head up, sporting a psychotic look in his eyes.

"Geh! G-Get the bosses!" The gang member yelled to the other thugs as he fell to his knees due to the sheer pain.

"Good boy," the boy said as he released the thug's wrist. The thug cried out as he clutched his now injured hand.

"You brat!" The thug yelled as he raised his D-Pad. "I'll make you pay for that!"

"With a duel?" The boy asked.

"Yeah! I'll teach you your place!" The thug said as he tossed his D-Pad up into the air.

"Fine. But challenging me was your last mistake" the boy said as he tossed his own D-Pad up. It was a hexagonal shape that was dark blue and aqua green in colour and had a web embroidery underneath. Out of the D-Pad came four blades that looked eerily like spider's legs. Both D-Pad's clacked onto the combatant's wrists while they attached their D-Gazers. "Duel Disk, set!" The thug's D-Gazer was a standard silver model while the boy didn't get out a D-Gazer. Instead, a purple tattoo that was a strange crescent shape that had two circles at the top formed over his left eye. "D-Gazer, set!"

 **AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED**

Each of the thugs activated their own D-Gazers, eager to see how this would unfold.

 **DUEL!**

 **Yagumo: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Ginji: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

"I'll take the first move!" Ginji announced as he drew his card.

"Go right ahead" Yagumo simply replied.

 **TURN 1**

 **Ginji: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I activate Hand Destruction!" Ginji called. Yagumo raised his eyebrow. "Now we send two cards to the graveyard and draw two new cards" Ginji announced. Both players did so. "Now I summon Bazoo The Soul Eater!" An ape-like creature with purple fur and several horns on its body appeared on the field. It gave a soul-shaking cry as it appeared.

 **Bazoo The Soul Eater: Level 4/EARTH/Beast/1600 ATK/900 DEF**

"Next I play Wild Nature's Release!" Bazoo began to beat its chest and roared as a reddish white aura appeared around it.

 **Bazoo ATK: 1600 + 900 = 2500**

"Bazoo now gains attack points equal to his defence points, but he's destroyed during the end phase" Ginji explained.

"Interesting, I wonder why you made such a move?" Yagumo said. Ginji smirked.

"You're about to find out. I end my turn." At this moment, Bazoo exploded into gold particles. "I now activate the effect of both Green Baboon's in my graveyard!" Ginji declared. A red aura then surrounded him as his life points decreased. "When a Beast-Type monster is destroyed, I can pay 1000 life points to special summon my Baboon from the graveyard. I'm summoning two!"

 **Ginji: 4000 – 2000 = 2000**

The graveyard portal opened up and two figures flew out of it. These were two large ape-like creatures that had green fur and purple facial hair. Additionally, each wore a pair of brown shoulder pads and carried a large wooden club.

 **Green Baboon, Defender Of The Forest: Level 7/EARTH/Beast/2600 ATK/1800 DEF (x2)**

"I end my turn with that" Ginji concluded.

 **Ginji: 2000**

 **Hand: 3**

Yagumo suddenly began to clap.

"Well done, you managed to get two powerful monsters on the field on your first turn." He then stopped clapping. "But if that is the extent of your strength then I'm disappointed." Yagumo then drew his card.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Yagumo: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"First, I activate Dark Core!" Yagumo announced. As he did, a dark portal soon appeared on the field.

"Wha-! What is that!" Ginji exclaimed. Yagumo smirked.

"This card allows me to discard one card in order to banish one of your Baboons" Yagumo explained. The gravity from the portal suddenly intensified, sucking one of the Baboons in before vanishing.

"My monster!" Ginji cried.

"Next I summon Rainbow Spider!" Yagumo announced. Appearing on his field was a large arachnid that's body was the colour of the rainbow itself.

 **Rainbow Spider: Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF**

"And since I control an Insect-Type monster, I can special summon a second Rainbow Spider from my hand!" A second copy of the rainbow coloured spider appeared on the field.

 **Rainbow Spider: Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF**

"Who cares if you summoned a bunch of bugs? You can't beat my Baboon" Ginji declared boldly. Yagumo smiled maliciously as a red number 70 appeared on the left side of his face.

"Really? Let's test that shall we?" He said as he raised his hand. "I overlay my two level 4 Rainbow Spiders!" Both spiders turned yellow before shooting up as streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" A golden galactic portal tore open in the air before the two streams of energy flew in. "Xyz summon! Unleash yourself! Number 70: Malevolent Sin!" The number 70 appeared and flashed red before a light blue oval shaped object descended out of the portal, with the red number 70 on the left side of it. Suddenly, a body crawled out of the oval, with eight large legs shooting out, four being on each side. The top of the monster's body had 5 large spikes with a dark blue tip and two red gems that went down the centre spike. The monster's head consisted of a horrific looking spider's head with six beady red eyes and four gnashing fangs. It let out a horrifying screech as it took the field.

 **Number 70: Malevolent Sin: Rank 4/DARK/Insect/Xyz/2400 ATK/1200 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

The gang members were all visibly horrified at the spider's appearance while Yagumo just smirked.

"I activate Malevolent Sin's effect! By using one Overlay Unit, I can banish one of your monsters!"

"What?!" Ginji cried as the spider shot out a string of web that wrapped around Green Baboon before disappearing.

"And with that, Malevolent Sin attacks your directly! Sin Slasher!" The monstrosity roared before charging at a terrified Ginji, slashing at him with its eight legs. Ginji cried out in pain as he was thrown back into the wall opposite, leaving a large dent.

 **Ginji: 2000 – 2400 = 0**

 **Ginji: LOSE**

Yagumo was still smirking at his victory as his D-Gazer tattoo disappeared from his face. Just then, Scorch and Chills walked into the room, visibly stunned at the sight of Ginji stuck in the wall.

"What the hell?" Scorch said in disbelief. Yagumo turned to meet his gaze.

"Ah, Scorch and Chills, a word if you may?" Yagumo said as politely as possible. "If not, then I guess you'll end up like your associate over there" Yagumo continued, referring to Ginji.

"What do you want?" Scorch asked simply. He just wanted these freaks to keep out of his hangout.

"I need you to do a job for me and considering your history and a recent encounter with the targets, you two were a perfect choice" Yagumo explained.

"What kinda job" Chills asked. Yagumo took of his D-Pad and pressed a few buttons before an image of Yuma, Lennox and Shark appeared.

"Simple, these three have a set of very powerful cards I'd like you to win off them in a duel," Yagumno told him.

"Why not just steal them?" Scorch asked.

"These are no ordinary cards, they are Number cards" Yagumo explained.

"Number cards? Aren't they those weird cards that have been turning people crazy recently?" Chills asked. Yagumo nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed. "They can only be taken by a victor in a duel, I want you to beat the three of them and retrieve their Numbers for me. Do that, and you will be rewarded greatly." Scorch was unsure.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch, just don't disappoint me" Yagumo warned.

Yagumo then reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of cash. "To prove I'm not lying, I'll give you this in advance." He handed the money to Scorch who just stared at the stack. "Do we have a deal?" Scorch grinned maliciously.

"Kid, you've got a deal," Scorch said as he shook Yagumo's hand.

"Perfect, now then…" Yagumo said as he opened up his extra deck and reached in. Scorch as Chills stared in confusion as Yagumo pulled out two cards. "If you're going to be dueling for their Number's, you'll need some of your own to stand up to them." Scorch and Chills reluctantly took the cards that Yagumo held out to them face down. Flipping them over, both gang bosses were surprised to see the cards were blank.

"The hell? It's blank!" Chills complained.

"Give it a minute," Yagumo said with a smirk. A dark aura covered both gang bosses as the Number's began to whisper tempting promises into their ears. A yellow 61 the appeared on the side of Scorch's right shoulder while a lime green 19 appeared on Chills' left forearm. Scorch grinned maliciously as power flowed through his veins.

"Great, when do we start?"

* * *

"Aww man!" An annoyed Yuma cried out as he sat up from where he was on the floor. Tetsuo just frowned at him. "I lost again."

"And game! I guess that makes the score 1-3 in Tetsuo's favour" Lennox refereed with a wave of his hand. He, Yuma and Tetsuo was currently enjoying a free period in the afternoon. The trio had decided to duel each other with Tetsuo just finishing his match against Yuma with a victory. Eventually, Kotori and Takashi, much to Lennox's annoyance, had come to spectate. Lennox still didn't like Takashi and wondered why Yuma even let him hang out with them in the first place. Cathy and Kyoya both had a lesson currently and Ruby was running errands for professor Ukyo at the moment, so they couldn't join them. Yuma suddenly jumped back on his feet.

"That was a sneaky move hiding that spell card Tetsuo but let's go again!" Yuma called.

"I just don't get it," Takashi said in disbelief. "How can Yuma keep going after so many losses? Especially the one he suffered yesterday at the hands of Shark? I'd never get up after a loss like that."

"Yuma's a determined guy alright," Lennox said, walking back towards Takashi and Kotori. "He says it's his Kattobingu spirit that drives him forward."

"Come on Tetsuo! One more time!" Yuma called. Tetsuo sighed and turned around, taking his D-Gazer off.

"Sorry, but I've played enough today. The bell's gonna ring in a minute" Tetsuo said as he walked away.

"But we currently have 18 minutes left before next lesson," Takashi said quietly so only Lennox and Kotori could hear.

"Weird" Lennox muttered. Yuma stared for a minute before smiling.

"What's with him?" He said aloud. "Oh well. Lennox! You're next!" He said while pointing at Lennox. Lennox looked at him surprised before replying.

"Um…actually I need to take care of something. Duel Takashi instead!" Lennox called as he ran off after Tetsuo.

"Ok then. Takashi! You're up!"

"Eh? Me?!" Cried Takashi.

"Come on Takashi! Get your deck out! I wanna at least finish before we have to go back!" Takashi

sighed as he got out his D-Pad and deck while Kotori looked over in the direction Lennox had gone.

Lennox ran after Tetsuo who was now entering the school building.

"Wait! Tetsuo!" Lennox called. Tetsuo stopped to allow Lennox to catch up. "Dude, what's wrong?" Lennox asked concerned. Ever since the confrontation with Shark yesterday, Tetsuo had been unusually quiet and seemed annoyed whenever he was around people.

"I didn't think Yuma would be the kind of person to go back on a promise," He said coldly. "In that duel, he promised us he wouldn't use a Number. But he went back on his word and summoned one anyway." Lennox frowned slightly. He too felt slightly angry at Yuma for using a Number but had decided it wasn't worth arguing about and had kept his mouth shut about it until now.

"Yeah, …it was a shock when Yuma did that. But I was the one a part of the bet, I should be the one who is angry, not you" Lennox told him. Tetsuo just growled in response.

"Yeah?!" Tetsuo huffed as he swung around angrily. "How would you like it when your closest friend stabs you in the back like that?!" He yelled. "I can't trust him anymore!" Lennox's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Tetsuo.

"Don't play this game with me Tetsuo, Shark wanted to fight Yuma's Numbers, so it was perfectly fair" Lennox snapped back. Tetsuo let out a small gasp.

"So you're defending him?!" He accused. "A backstabber?"

"Wha? No! Yuma may have broken a promise, but at least he learned his lesson afterwards!" Lennox could feel his blood boiling. "So just drop it!" Tetsuo inched closer, so he towered above Lennox. Lennox glared back, showing he wasn't afraid.

"I don't think you understand how friendship works Lennox. You don't break promises" Tetsuo growled.

"And I don't think you understand how far Yuma and I go to protect all of you" Lennox snarled spitefully. His eyes suddenly widened, and he took a step back. He had done it now. He has said too much.

"Lennox?" Began Tetsuo. "What are you hiding?"

"I…have to go," Lennox said suddenly and turned to leave. Tetsuo grabbed his arm.

"No, you're not. You're telling me right now what you're hiding" Tetsuo said. Lennox sighed as his arm was released. Now was as good as any time to tell Tetsuo.

"Yuma isn't the only one who has Number cards" Lennox explained as he reached into his extra deck box. He pulled out Dawn Sword, holding it up for Tetsuo to see. Tetsuo could only stare in shock as the revelation sunk in.

"All this time…you've had a Number" Tetsuo managed to say at last.

"Yeah" sighed Lennox guiltily. "I got it when the Numbers first appeared, but so far I haven't been possessed."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tetsuo asked. Lennox grimaced.

"I…I didn't want to involve you guys and have you get hurt" Lennox admitted. He had been afraid of this ever since Shino had first given him his mission. "Remember when you found me in the park?" Lennox asked. Tetsuo nodded, recalling the incident. "That duel I almost lost, it was because of the Numbers." It finally hit Tetsuo straight in the head. No wonder Lennox was so distraught. But even so, why didn't he ask for help.

"But I told you then, just ask us for help. Yuma has Numbers too! He could have helped!" Tetsuo began to protest.

"No! you don't get it! The thing I dueled played for keeps!" Lennox suddenly burst out. Tetsuo was about to complain but was cut off by Lennox before he could. "It went to _attack_ Ruby," Lennox said. "It _lunged_ at her" Tetsuo only stared. "Thank god I was there to distract it, but even so, I almost wound up hurt too." Lennox then looked at Tetsuo apologetically.

"I should have told you guys though, I should have never kept it a secret. I just didn't want you guys to end up getting hurt, that's all" Lennox explained, looking away guiltily.

"Yeah, you should have" Tetsuo huffed. "All this Number stuff is making it hard to trust the pair of you. How can I be friends with people who keep secrets from me." Lennox looked up at Tetsuo as he turned to leave. "I can't trust you guys right now, so I'm done talking to you." With that, Tetsuo walked into the school building leaving Lennox bewildered. Lennox was about to call out to Tetsuo when Yuma called his name. Lennox turned back to see Yuma, Kotori and Takashi walking towards him.

"Hey, Lennox! What was that about?" Yuma asked.

"It was…nothing" Lennox answered. "I thought you were still dueling?" Lennox asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Takashi ended it early as he wanted to get to lesson on time" Yuma sighed sadly as his face fell. Lennox let out a small chuckle, knowing Takashi would do something like that, just to get out of a duel.

"Well come on, we'll really be late if we're loitering out here," Lennox told them. The three agreed and they all walked into the school building. Inside, they were greeted with the sight of Tetsuo sitting at a table alone with his D-Pad out. There were several other students from their year relaxing in the building as it was for recreational use whenever the students had a free period.

"Hey! Tetsuo!" Yuma called. Tetsuo looked up from his D-Pad to see the group walking towards him.

"Let's duel later after school," Yuma said. Tetsuo shook his head.

"I can't duel with you anymore" was all he said as he grabbed his stuff to leave.

"Hey! What's with that stingy talk?" Yuma huffed in annoyance.

"You're not trustworthy. That's why" Tetsuo replied.

"Whaddya mean?!" Yuma called out as Tetsuo walked away.

"You broke a promise Yuma. Both you and Lennox. You summoned a Number when you said you wouldn't and Lennox has been lying to us too" Tetsuo explained. Yuma frowned. Why was Tetsuo angry with him? It wasn't like he had summoned Utopia on purpose to hurt his feelings. Astral wanted him to protect the key.

"Hey! I did what I had to in order to protect the key. And I don't get why Lennox is involved in this" Yuma finally replied. Tetsuo shot an accusing glare at Lennox whilst the others looked at him confused.

"Well…I…" Lennox began to stutter, unsure what to say. He was defiantly going to pay Tetsuo back for singling him out like this.

"He's had a Number card the entire time and never told any of us about it" Tetsuo accused, pointing at Lennox.

"Is this true?" Takashi asked. Yuma stared at Lennox in disbelief. Lennox, one of his oldest friends, had lied to him.

"I..yes" Lennox answered.

"Why?" Asked Yuma, clearly upset. Lennox sucked in a deep breath.

"Because I was given a mission by someone. I couldn't risk any of you getting hurt, but I needed to tell you" Lennox explained.

"See how I feel now," Tetsuo said. "How can I be friends with someone who breaks promises and keeps secrets."

"You shut up" Lennox huffed. The others stared at him in disbelief. "I told you no longer than a minute ago that I had my reasons for keeping it a secret. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if one of you got hurt because of me. But I know now that I can't keep you in the dark anymore. I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning when everyone's present."

"I trust you Lennox" Yuma then said. The others looked at him. "I know you. You've never hidden anything from us before unless you had no other choice. So, I'll trust you to tell us everything tomorrow then." Lennox smiled.

"Thank you, Yuma," he said before Yuma then turned to Tetsuo.

"I still don't understand why you don't want to duel with me though? I had to protect the Emperor's Key" Yuma said to Tetsuo, but he was already leaving.

"I already said it's because I can't trust you anymore. I'm done talking with you."

"Fine!" Yuma huffed in annoyance. "I'll just duel someone else then! There are plenty more opponents." At this moment, Astral decided to pop out of the key and join in the conversation.

"It's useless. Your friend clearly does not wish to duel you. But you would not win against another opponent anyway."

"Eh?! What do you mean by that?! I thought you said I'd improved!" Yuma yelled. Kotori just facepalmed and shook her head.

"Here we go again" she sighed.

"It's that Astral guy isn't it?" Lennox asked her. Kotori nodded.

"I mean, normally people would call Yuma crazy for talking to thin air but considering everything that's happened so far with all these strange Number cards popping up, I can't deny the fact I'm starting to believe 'Astral' exists" she explained.

"…yeah" Lennox replied, recalling his own past experiences. Kotori was about to speak up again when the bell rung, signalling for everyone to head to their next lesson.

"I've got biology now, so I won't see you guys for the rest of the day," Lennox said. Kotori nodded.

"That's fine, I've got English with Yuma now, so I won't either." The three said their goodbyes before walking off, with Kotori dragging Yuma away who was still arguing with Astral.

"The fact of the matter is, you've been dueling differently" Astral stated as Yuma walked alongside Kotori down the hallway. "Normally, you would try to use some sort of childish strategy. But today all you've been doing is pointlessly attacking your opponent over and over again" Astral said.

"So?" Asked Yuma.

"So, there is something wrong with you. It's because of Shark isn't it?" Astral replied. Yuma gave a look of surprise from Astral's answer. "You're irritated because of him, and its affecting your dueling isn't it?" Yuma paused, taking in Astral's words before replying. Kotori turned and looked at Yuma who stood staring into space.

"Eh?" Yuma said as he saw Kotori looking at him. "I'm fine Kotori, just go on without me." Kotori just shrugged and continued onwards to the classroom. Yuma then turned back to Astral.

So what?" Yuma replied. "Are you saying I have no chance now against anyone?" Astral nodded.

"Yes. It is due to your recklessness that you fall for such easy tricks like Tetsuo's magic card earlier, but there is also another reason why both he and Shark were able to beat you" Astral told him. Yuma was confused.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Yuma asked irritated.

"While indeed, Shark is a talented duelist, he mainly won because he thoroughly studied your deck. He learnt from his past loss and was able to figure out the Number's weakness and exploit it. He knows you very well" Astral explained.

"Yeah? So?" Yuma huffed.

"So, what do you know about him?" Astral asked. The question dropped like a weight on Yuma's shoulders. True, what did he know? Granted he knew Shark when they were kids, but Shark soon disappeared from his life shortly afterwards. Hell! He hadn't even seen him again until he started attending Heartland Academy and found out Shark attended there too. But by that time, it was too late. the old Shark was gone. Yuma suddenly recalled something that Tetsuo had said to him, how many people speculated that Shark had turned 'bad' after his loss in the circuit finals. He was going to have to do some digging.

* * *

Deep in the depths of Heartland's underground, a duel had just finished. The loser, a member of The Pack, was thrown against a wall with tremendous force. He hit the wall and didn't get up, instead he raised his head slowly to look at his attacker, Shark. Shark deactivated his duel disk and took off his D-Gazer before walking over to the injured man.

"Now, Talk!" He roared.

"Ok! Ok!" The thug cried, fearing for himself. "I heard the bosses were planning to raid the museum tonight. That all I know! I swear!" Shark then dropped the man and turned to leave.

"You'd better be right" Shark growled as he walked away.

* * *

"Now I summon Spirit Of Flames" Ruby declared as she slapped the card down on the table.

"You can't do that" Lennox told her. Ruby gave him a puzzled look.

"Huh? Why not?" She asked.

"Spirit Of Flames can only be special summoned by banishing a fire attribute monster from the graveyard" Lennox explained.

"Oh," Ruby replied as she shuffled through her graveyard until she found a fire monster she wanted to banish. "Sorry about that" she apologised.

"Its fine" Lennox said with a reassuring smile. "You're still learning the rules of the game, so it's understandable." Lennox and Ruby were currently practising in the library as they had now finished their last lessons and the school had now finished for the day. They had surprisingly found Kotori in the library too as she was currently studying for a physics exam she had the next day. Kotori had decided to take a break from studying and watch Lennox and Ruby practice, learning a few things in the process too.

"Cheer up Ruby, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later," Kotori said in an effort to cheer Ruby up.

"Yeah" sighed Ruby. "I'll-" Ruby started but stopped as soon as she saw a certain someone walking into the library.

"What's wrong?" Kotori then asked.

"Guys, look. Its Yuma" Ruby told the other two as she pointed at Yuma. Lennox and Kotori turned and surprisingly saw Yuma walk over to a computer and turn it on.

"Either the world's ending or somethings up. Yuma _never_ comes to the library" Lennox joked.

"Why don't we go see what's wrong then?" Kotori suggested. The trio gathered their things and walked over to the computer where Yuma was sat at. It appeared he was having a bit of trouble working it.

"Come on! How is this one blocked too?!" Yuma huffed at the computer.

"You're using the wrong browser," Kotori said as she walked over.

"Huh?" Yuma asked as he turned to see her, Lennox and Ruby standing there.

"Here, let me," Kotori said as she took over the computer. "The school blocked a bunch of these browsers as there were a lot of pop-ups on them. There, done." Yuma turned back to the computer to see a new search engine was open, one that wasn't blocked.

"Thanks, Kotori" Yuma thanked and began to type into the search bar.

"Um…Yuma? What exactly are you doing here? You never come to the library" Lennox asked. Before Yuma could answer, a webpage with an article in it opened up and Lennox read the headline. "Duel Monsters National Championship Scandal? Fan Favourite Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro Cheats In Finals? The hell? Shark's in this article?"

"Yeah…I was looking up stuff about Shark and I guess this popped up" Yuma explained. Sure enough, the article was defiantly about Shark as there was a picture of a younger Shark underneath the headline. Upon closer inspection, Lennox could see Shark seemed to look very sad in the picture.

"I knew Shark was disqualified from the nationals, it happened in my hometown before I moved here. But I'd never thought Shark would resort to something like cheating" Ruby said.

"Come on guys, Shark wouldn't cheat for no reason like that. There has to be a reason" Lennox said, trying not to believe the article.

"Well the only way to find out is to read this article then," Yuma told him.

"I'll read" offered Lennox. "I started it and I'll finish it." He took a deep breath and began to read the first line whilst the other listened keenly. "Fan favourite champion candidate Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro was disqualified from the Duel Monsters National Championship for spying on his opponent's deck before the final match. Security cameras saw the disgraced champion peaking at his opponent's deck in the waiting room…"

* * *

About an hour later, the group was now walking home. The rest of the article just consisted of evidence against Shark and comments from his opponent, Thomas Arclight, who had won the championships because of the disqualification. Shark made no comments in the article, or any others that the group had read afterwards.

"I still can't believe Shark cheated. Kyoya is not going to like that" Ruby sighed.

"Well, it isn't true!" Yuma protested. The others looked at him perplexed.

"But, the articles at the library…" Kotori began.

"I know," Yuma said, cutting her off. "But that duel I had with Shark…it wasn't a duel with that kind of person!" They all stopped just before the stairs that lead out of school. "If Shark was still that kind of person who cheated, then that duel I had wouldn't feel like a real duel at all. But it did! When I duel, I can tell whether a person is good or bad by their dueling, and Shark felt like he was a good person. I don't know where it comes from…I can just tell" Yuma explained.

"You're not the only one Yuma," Lennox said. This time, everyone turned their attention to Lennox. "When you dueled Shark, I could feel this aura of sorrow coming from him. Every time I'm around him, I'm just hit with a wave of sadness. I don't know why it happens. But I know from it that Shark is not a bad person. He's just misguided" Lennox explained. The conversation was then interrupted by the sound of someone yelling at the group.

"Oi! You lot! Hey!" The group turned to see the figure of one of The Pack's members clambering up the stairs towards them. He was small with red hair and wore a sleeveless top with the words R and K on it. Ginji. Once he reached the group, Ginji stopped and began to pant heavily. It looked like he had been running for quite a while.

"I know you! You're one of those gang members!" Yuma yelled.

"Shark's…in…trouble" Ginji managed to get out between breaths.

"What do you mean?" Lennox asked suspiciously. Ginji recovered and began to explain the situation.

"The bosses are going to steal that rare deck from the museum and have Shark take the blame," he said.

"What? But how are they going to do that?" Ruby asked.

"I heard the bosses were originally going to make me take the fall for it, the bunch of assholes. But then one of our members around this area tipped off to Shark about the raid. The Bosses found out and instead of me, they're going to lure Shark into a trap and capture him, handing him over to the authorities while they take the deck" Ginji explained. Without warning, Yuma shot off and began to sprint away, much to the shock of the others.

"Wait for Yuma!" Kotori called out to him. Yuma froze in his tracks.

"Don't do anything reckless. Let's tell the police about this. Surely they'll stop The Pack" she said.

"No Kotori" Lennox told her as he stepped forward.

"This is our problem whether we like it or not. Shark's gotten himself involved in all this because of his loss to Yuma. So naturally, it's only fair we bring him out of this" Lennox explained.

"Right," Yuma said as he turned back towards the group. "Besides, Shark's helped us out in the past, so we'll help him. I'm not just doing it for Shark, I'm doing it for me and Lennox too. I let us both down when I used the Numbers, I realised that now. And because of that, I ended up hurting one of my closet friends. I thought I was doing it to get Shark out, But I only wanted to win, that was the problem. I can't let it end like this, So I'm going to help him!" With that said, he and Lennox turned to run off again.

"Wait! Be careful! The Bosses have those weird cards!" Ginji yelled.

"What cards?" Lennox asked as he turned back towards Ginji.

"I can't remember what they were called, but after the Bosses got them, they've been doing crazier and crazier things" Ginji explained.

"It must be the Numbers" Lennox muttered as Astral appeared from the Emperor's Key.

"Then this is our problem. We must collect those Numbers" Astral said, even though Yuma was the only one who could hear him. The group then took off running. As they did, Ginji got out his D-Gazer and dialled a number.

"Hello? Boss? Yeah? They took the bait."

* * *

It was late at night by the time both Scorch and Chills had arrived at the museum. The pair jumped the fence and stood on the other side waiting for their prey to arrive.

"Where are they?" Chills huffed annoyed.

"Don't worry, they'll be here soon?" Scorch told his brother.

"Hey!" A voice rang out. The two brothers looked ahead to see a figure stepping out of the shadows. Shark.

"Well, well, well. The little Shark _did_ decide to swim by this evening. What a nice surprise" Chills chuckled.

"Shut it! I'm going to make you pay for ever crossing me!" Shark yelled at them.

"Oh yeah?" Scorch teased. "You and what army?"

"This army!" All three turned around to see two more figures walking out of the darkness. It was Yuma and Lennox, both now wearing their casual clothes.

"Yuma?! Lennox?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Shark asked shocked.

"We came here to help you" Lennox explained. "I'm just glad we got here in time." Shark began to grit his teeth.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to get involved?" He huffed.

"Hey! Like it or not, we still care about you. So just suck it up and deal with it" Lennox snapped.

"Looks like the plan worked. All the little lambs are gathered up ready for slaughter" Chills chucked.

"What plan?" Yuma asked.

"You see, as much as we want that rare deck, we want something even more. We want those Number cards of yours" Chills explained. This shocked the three young duelists, as well as Astral who was present.

"They know we have Number cards? But how?" Lennox whispered.

"Since Shark was already after us, we had one of our members tip off our location to him" Scorch explained whilst Shark gritted his teeth at three revelations.

"And since we knew about your friendship with the two brats there," Chills said, referring to Lennox and Yuma. "We had Ginji tell them where you were, and we knew they'd come running to save their precious friend in no time." The two thugs began to laugh whilst Lennox growled at them.

"So…all this time it was a setup?" Yuma said surprised.

"It appears so," Astral told him. "The two of them used your friendship with Shark in order to lure you here so they could take your Numbers."

"I can't believe we fell for that trap" huffed Lennox.

"Yep, you walked right into it," another voice said. The three boys and Astral turned to see Ginji walking out of the shadows along with other members of The Pack.

"Eh? It's you!" Yuma cried.

"That's right," Ginji said with a nasty smile. "And now we're going to take your Numbers."

"Here's how it's going to work" Scorch bellowed to get everyone's attention. "Two of you will duel me and Chills in a tag duel, and the remaining one can take on Ginji if that satisfies you."

"Sure!" Shark yelled, stepping forwards. "After all you've done, I'm going crush you!"

"That doubles for me!" Lennox yelled.

"Eh? Lennox?" Yuma questioned, giving him a puzzled look as well as Shark.

"I want to pay these punks back after tricking us, and I owe you for saving me Shark" Lennox explained, flashing a smile at Shark.

"Fine. Just don't get in the way" huffed Shark.

"Then you're taking on me!" Ginji announced as he stepped forward towards Yuma.

"Sure! After tricking us and luring us here, I won't forgive such a cowardly move!" Yuma roared.

"Nor will I!" Agreed Astral as Yuma got out his D-Pad. The other participating duelists did the same thing.

"Duel Disk, set!" Each of their D-Pads was tossed into the air and began to change into duel disks before attaching onto their wrists. "D-Gazer, set!" Each duelist attached their D-Gazer to their eye before it flashed, signifying its connection with the dueling system.

 **AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED**

 **DUEL!**

 **Scorch: 4000**

 **Chills: 4000**

 **Hands: 5**

 **VS**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hands: 5**

* * *

 **Yuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

 **VS**

 **Ginji: 4000**

 **Hand: 5**

As the duel started, a lone figure stood watching from the room of the museum.

"As I told you before, you'd better not disappoint me" Yagumo murmured to himself.

Kotori and Kyoya swiftly landed on their feet whilst Tetsuo landed face first on the ground and Takashi landed on his back. The four had currently climbed the fence of the museum in order to support their friends. Tetsuo had reluctantly been dragged along by an irritated Kyoya. He was still mad about what happened earlier in the day but Kyoya didn't care. Ruby was apprehensive about climbing the fence, but did so anyway, landing in Kyoya's arms.

"Guys! It's starting!" Kotori said.

"Thankfully we made it," Kyoya said as he let go of a blushing Ruby.

"Huh? It looks like they're having a tag duel" Takashi said.

"And Yuma is on his own" Kotori said worriedly.

"Hey! Yuma!" Kyoya called. Yuma, Shark and Lennox all turned to see their friends standing there.

"Guys! Why did you come too?" Yuma called.

"You didn't think we'd let you guys risk your lives alone? We're all in this together!" Ruby yelled.

"Guys…" Lennox trailed off.

"Heh, shall we deal with them, Boss?" One of the thugs closest to Kyoya said.

"Sure, we don't need more getting in our way," Scorch said.

"Guys! Leave now! Hurry!" Lennox called in a panic.

"And let you have all the fun? No way" Kyoya said. "Let's do this Tetsuo" Kyoya continued as he got out his D-Pad.

"Huh? Me?" Tetsuo questioned.

"Uh-huh," Kyoya nodded as he tossed up his D-Pad. Tetsuo, as well as two of the thugs, did the same thing.

"Well, looks like everyone's getting involved. I can't wait to see the looks on your faces when we crush you all" Chills chuckled.

"Grr! Shut it! Make your move!" Lennox yelled with a growl.

"As you wish!" Scorch yelled back.

 **TURN: 1**

 **Scorch: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I set one monster face down, and then set two cards. That's all for me." Scorch said as the face downs augmented onto the field.

"That's it?" Asked Lennox.

"Hey, I'm not one for flashy openings" Scorch shrugged.

 **Scorch: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

"How's this for flashy?" Lennox retorted as he drew.

 **TURN: 2**

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Satellarknight Alsahm!" Lennox's angel-like warrior, coated in his gold and silver armour appeared on the field. A gold ring circled his body that had a metal sphere attached to it and he carried a small bow loaded with an arrow in his hands.

 **Satellarknight Alsahm: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1400 ATK/1800 DEF**

"Now for Alsahm's effect! So now that he's been summoned, you take 1000 points of damage!" Alsahm fired the pre-loaded arrow and it flew right into Scorch who only just grunted.

 **Scorch: 3000**

"Now I set a card and end my turn!" Lennox declared as the single set card appeared.

 **Lennox: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

"Nice job Lennox!" Yuma called, only to receive a response from Ginji.

"Ha! You should worry about yourself half-pint!" Ginji insulted as he drew while Yuma just growled.

"My turn!" Yelled Chills as he drew his card.

 **TURN: 3**

 **Chills: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I summon Pompadour Blizzardon in attack mode!" a huge gust of icy cold wind blew across the duel field before a large Allosaurus like creature appeared. It had a dark blue, almost black scales with two large chunks of ice sticking out it's back. The most notable feature of the creature was the large fin in its head that was made entirely of ice. It let out a high-pitched screech as the wind began to die down.

 **Pompadour Blizzardon: Level 4/WATER/Dinosaur/1400 ATK/1400 DEF**

 _"A dinosaur? I guess they must use dinosaur decks and their Number's maybe dinosaur's too"_ Lennox thought to himself. He didn't expect the pair of them to use dinosaurs of all things but considering both their nicknames and the fact Chills summoned a water monster, Scorch must use a fire-based deck whilst Chills used water.

"I set two cards and end my turn!" Chills announced, giving a quick glance to Scorch who only smirked. This gave Shark an odd feeling.

" _Wait…this feels very familiar."_

"What's wrong? Scared out of your wit?" Chills teased. Lennox growled. The pair of them were up to something, he could just tell.

"Ignore them, guys! You got this!" Ruby cheered.

"Aww, looks like the little cheerleading squad is trying to help out, pathetic" Scorch spat.

"Shut it you!" Lennox yelled and turned to Shark. "Go for it Shark." Shark nodded and drew his card, announcing his turn as well.

 **Chills: 4000**

 **Hand: 3**

* * *

 **TURN: 4**

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hand: 6**

"I'm summoning Big Jaws!" Shark announced as a vortex of water soon shot out of the ground and his main muscle, a shark with a pair of large metallic jaws and a bladed fin swam out.

 **Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF**

"Next I summon Shark Stickers!" Another vortex of water appeared on the field, this one carrying the shark and remora hybrid that Lennox had first seen during Shark's duel against Yuma the day before

 **Shark Stickers: Level 3/WATER/Fish/200 ATK/1000 DEF**

"Now he's got two level 3 monsters" Lennox murmured as Shark raised his hand.

"I overlay level 3 Big Jaws and Shark Stickers!" Shark declared as the two monsters turned into blue streams of energy and shot up into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark yelled as a red portal opened in front of him and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Shark's infamous pair of armoured flying sharks flew out of the portal and onto the field, roaring as they did so.

 **Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/1900 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"Awesome. Another first turn Xyz summon" Yuma murmured as he began to watch the tag match, much to Ginji's annoyance.

"Alright! With this kind of muscle, Shark and Lennox will win in no time!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I activate Aero Shark's effect! By using one overlay unit, I can inflict 400 points of damage to my opponent for every card in my hand" Shark explained as Aero Shark absorbed one of the circling overlay units, sending a shower of light towards Shark. "I'm holding four cards, so that's 1600 points of damage!" Shark yelled as he held up his hand. Aero Shark roared as it fired four black pods at Scorch, each one containing four gold missiles. The pods burst open and shot the missiles towards Scorch, exploding as they impacted the ground.

 **Scorch: 3000 – 1600 = 1400**

"Alright!" Cheered Kotori as Ruby fist pumped the air. Tetsuo and Kyoya smiled from their duel as they saw Shark land the attack.

"How interesting. Both Lennox and Shark's strategy seems to be ganging up on Scorch to defeat them one at a time. And since they cannot attack during their first turn in a tag duel, they are using effect damage instead" Astral mused.

"Oh yeah? Well, let's hope we have a strategy for our duel" Yuma said slightly worried as he gazed at the Gagaga Magician on his field staring down Ginji's Beast Striker, which was a large ape-like creature that was covered in patches of black fur and held a giant mallet over its shoulder.

 **Current Status Of Duel**

 **Yuma: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

 **VS**

 **Ginji: 4000**

 **Hand: 4**

 **Yuma's field:**

 **Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 ATK/1000 DEF**

 **One set spell or trap**

 **Ginji's field:**

 **Beast Striker: Level 4/EARTH/Beast/1850 ATK/400 DEF**

 **No active or set spell or traps**

"Finally! You're paying more attention" Ginji huffed as he slipped a card into his graveyard. "I activate Beast Striker's effect! By sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon Moja from my deck!" A small cute creature with black fur covering all but it's face, yellow skin and two ridiculously huge eyes appeared on Ginji's field.

 **Moja: Level 1/EARTH/Beast/100 ATK/100 DEF**

"Huh? What the hell is that thing?" wondered Yuma. Needless to say, it was beginning to creep him out slightly.

"I do not think he is finished" Astral advised.

"Now by releasing Moja, I can summon the King of The Beasts that I just dumped in the graveyard with Foolish Burial last turn!" Ginji explained. Moji disappeared in a burst of golden particles that was sucked into the graveyard portal that opened beneath it. A long bony hand rose out of the portal followed a second one and then a large mass of black fur. Yuma stared at the behemoth, scared to the bone whilst the Kotori closed her eyes and looked away and Ruby and Takashi held each other in fright. Once the monster finally rose out of the graveyard, everyone could get a good look at it. it appeared to be a large mass of black fur with a skull for a head and four long bony arms that it used to support itself. It gave a low grumble whilst its empty eye sockets flashed red for a brief second.

 **King Of The Beasts: Level 7/EARTH/Beast/2500 ATK/800 DEF**

"Ah! What the heck do we do now?!" Cried Yuma in despair. He looked to Astral for an answer but the spirit was frozen in the air at the monster's summon.

"I am not sure. I didn't foresee this happening" Astral said. While it was obvious that Ginji was setting up for a big play. Astral didn't predict that play happening straight away on the next turn. Coupled with the fact that Yuma's facedown wasn't a trap meant to stop attacks, this was going to get nasty. Scorch could only laugh at Yuma's fate.

"You see that? Your friend is cornered, and soon you'll be" he said. "Chills!"

"I got you bro!" Chills answered as his facedown revealed itself. "I activate Blizzard Egg Level 5!" An egg completely made of ice appeared on the field before shattering, sending a cold wind in all directions and calling forth a blizzard. "When a player takes damage, they can special summon one level 5 monster from their hand, but if they don't have a level 5 monster, then they take 500 points of damage" Chills explained.

"Wait? So you're just taking a gamble?" Asked Lennox. Why? Scorch had already taken enough damage beforehand, so why was Chills willing to risk even more?

"Let's see…Level 5, level 5…" Scorch murmured as his hand hovered over his cards until he gave a wicked grin. "I summon Baggy Pants Lavasaurus!" A large red scaled dinosaur rose onto the field, radiating a wave of heat which cancelled the blizzard. It had large stout feet, big clawed hands as well as several large red crystals on its back and elbows.

 **Baggy Pants Lavasaurus: Level 5/FIRE/Dinosaur/2100 ATK/1300 DEF**

"No way!" Cried Lennox while Shark gave a look of shock.

"Now my turn!" Called Scorch as his facedown flipped into action. Like Chills' Blizzard Egg, an egg-shaped fireball appeared before dispersing, sending waves of heat across the field. "Flame Egg Level 5! It allows my opponent, Chills to be exact, to summon a level 5 monster since I took damage. However, if he doesn't have a monster to summon, then he'll take 500 points of damage" Scorch explained while casting a glance at Chills.

"The same moved again? Seriously?" Lennox said while Shark just narrowed his eyes. Something was defiantly wrong here.

"I summon Iceberdon in defence mode!" Chills called as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. The ground cracked open to allow a dinosaur similar to a brachiosaurus appear on the field. The only difference between this new monster and an actual brachiosaurus was the large mountain of ice on the monster's back.

 **Icebergdon: Level 5/WATER/Dinosaur/1300 ATK/2100 DEF**

"Seriously?! They both had level 5 monsters?!" Lennox cried. This was bad. They were outnumbered four to two, and with both of them having weaker monsters, it wouldn't be long before Scorch and Chills turned the tide of the duel. Shark just narrowed his eyes at this. Something wasn't right about this, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"I set two cards and end my turn!" Shark announced as the two cards then appeared.

 **Shark: 4000**

 **Hand: 2**

"This is bad" Takashi murmured. "Both Scorch and Chills outnumber Shark and Lennox. At this rate, it'll be over soon."

"Don't give up on them yet!" Ruby yelled defiantly. "We have to keep rooting for all of them" she continued, glancing across to Yuma who had just been on the receiving end of Ginji's attack, and to Tetsuo and Kyoya who only had Tin Archduke on their field while their opponents had both Dragonic Knight and Ultimate Tyranno on their field.

"It's my turn now!" Announced Scorch as he drew his card.

 **TURN: 5**

 **Scorch: 1400**

 **Hand: 4**

"I now flip summon Flamesaurus!" The set monster on Scorch's field flipped over to reveal an ankylosaur covered in black scales with four red spikes that curved out of its armoured shell and had a spiked ball on the end of its tail instead of the normal bony club that a regular ankylosaur would have.

 **Flamesaurus: Level 4/FIRE/Dinosaur/1800 ATK/1200 DEF**

"Now for its flip effect!" Began Scorch. "I can now increase it's level by one! So Flamesaurus becomes level 5!"

 **Flamesaurus Level: 4 – 5**

"I now overlay both my level five monsters! Lavasaurus and Flamesaurus!" Both monsters turned into steams of red energy that shot up into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Scorch announced as the golden galaxy portal opened up at his feet.

"Here it comes!" Lennox called as both monsters flew in and a burst of golden light occurred shortly afterwards.

"Number 61: Volcasaurus! Be born!" Scorch declared as he slapped the card onto his duel disk. A yellow 61 appeared briefly before flashing, and the sealed form of the Number rose out of the portal. This was a large ball of piping hot magma that had two large spikes on the top of it. The ball then split open to allow the monster that was sealed inside to be set free. It was a large tyrannosaurus that had green eyes and was covered in red scales. Along with that, it had two large spears for hands instead of actual hands. Volcasaurus roared loudly as it took its place on the battlefield with two red overlay units orbiting it.

 **Volcasaurus: Rank 5/FIRE/Dinosaur/Xyz/2500 ATK/1500 DEF/Overlay Units: 2**

"So, this is their first Number" Shark muttered.

"That thing is huge!" Cried Kotori in alarm.

"Y-yeah. I wonder what it does" Ruby muttered to herself. Another explosion occurred, and Ruby turned her attention to the other duel happening. Tetsuo's Tin Archduke had just bit the dust and now he and Kyoya were in trouble. She then looked over at Yuma's duel and could see he was now struggling too. Gogogo Golem was currently fighting off an attack from King Of The Beasts in defence mode, but Beast Striker soon picked up the slack and obliterated the golem standing in the way. Yuma now had nothing. The feeling of dread soon began to well up inside her. This was becoming hopeless, just like Lennox's last duel with the Duel Blood.

"I activate Volcasaurus' effect!" Announced Scorch which snapped Ruby out of her thoughts. Volcasaurus chomped down on one of its overlay units which sent a wave of red energy across its body.

 **Volcasaurus Overlay Units: 1**

"By detaching an overlay unit, I can obliterate one of your monsters and slam you with damage equal to its attack points!" Scorch explained as his predatory eyes settled on Shark. "I'm taking out Aero Shark! Go, Magma Max!" The dinosaur's chest opened up and shot out a wave of hot magma which incinerated the pair of flying sharks, causing an explosion which sent Shark flying backwards.

 **Shark: 4000 – 1900 = 2100**

"Shark! Are you ok?!" Cried Lennox as he watched his partner struggle to get off the floor.

"Don't think you're exempt from any punishment too brat!" Called Scorch as Lennox swung his head around in time to see Scorch order his attack. "Volcasaurus! Wipe out his monster! Tyrant's Flame!" Volcasaurus wasted no time in firing a jet of flames out of its huge jaws. Alsahm panicked before it was swept out of existence by Volcasaurus' flames. The attack caused yet another large explosion which sent Lennox reeling back.

 **Lennox: 4000 – 900 = 3100**

"Lennox!" Ruby and Kotori cried in union while Kyoya growled angrily and then glared at his opponents.

"That's it. These guys are done for" he whispered angrily to himself. Lennox soon found himself struggling to get up like Shark had earlier. The latter was now kneeling next to him as he looked at their opponents who just laughed.

"Hahaha! This is too fucking easy!" boasted Scorch. "Our combination is perfect!"

"Yeah! Me and my bro here have never lost a tag duel" Chills chimed in. "What difference would the pair of you make?!" The pair soon began to laugh which sprouted up laughter from all the other thugs watching as well as the ones dueling. The small group of friends soon felt themselves being pushed into a corner with nowhere to run. They were rat caught in a mouse trap. Lennox stared at his oppressors and could only think of one thing…

" _This…this is hopeless."_

* * *

 _Altered Card Effects:_

 **Rainbow Spider:** **Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF**

 _Effect:_ _If you control a face-up Insect-Type monster, you can special summon this card from your hand. You can only special summon one 'Rainbow Spider' once per turn this way. Once per turn, you can declare a level from 4 – 10, this card becomes the declared level until the end phase._

* * *

 **Goodness me it's been a while! I originally started this chapter a while back but got extremely lazy and didn't bother to continue for a while. Now I feel like I'm going to get back on track. No fan-made cards from me which is probably a first, but next chapter will defiantly have some and I'm also using cards with changed effects that have been changed by me. This will mostly be manga cards used by manga characters that have never been released. Today's example will be Rainbow Spider which was a non-effect monster in the manga. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. My final exams begin next week, and my other exams begin another week or two after, so it's time for revision, yay! This unfortunately means I won't be able to continue writing for a while which is kind of a shame since I've gotten back into the swing of things and feel like I can keep going for a while (Although it's probably no big deal since I tend to update chapters every month or so XD). I'll probably write a bit of the next chapter for this week and then focus on my studies.**

 **But I am going to leave you all with a parting gift, however. I've got all the chapters currently planned out until the end of the WDC I'm going to leave you all with a few chapter previews. I thought I might have a go at it since lots of other authors are doing it too, specifically in the VRAINS section. If any of you don't want spoilers, then skip this.**

 **Chapter 9: The extent of our bonds! Armoured Xyz Combination: Lennox and Shark struggle against the combined might of Scorch and Chills. But with encouragement from their friends, Shark and Lennox bet it all on one draw!**

 **Chapter 10: Friend to foe! The menacing creature's return: Wanting to know more about the Duel Blood. Lennox seeks out Shino Cubaki. At this time, Yuma who is searching for a missing Kyoya stumbles upon the Duel Blood and engages it. But something isn't right…**

 **Chapter 11: Descend incarnation of light! The dragon with galactic eyes: Furious with the events that had just transpired, Lennox's mission is soon made much more difficult with the appearance of a Number Hunter who collects Numbers** _ **and souls!**_ **Worse still, Yuma ends up in a duel with the hunter playing for keeps!**

 **Chapter 12: Rebuilding what is lost! The match between friends: Yuma is torn up over his duel with the Number Hunter and is completely shaken up. A familiar face decides to snap Yuma back to reality with a duel!**

 **Chapter 13: The transfer student! Friend or Foe?: While Yuma is sent away to be taught by an old friend of his grandmothers, Lennox, Shark, Ruby and Kyoya are tasked with hunting the Numbers. Things are made difficult however when a new student shows up, but Lennox feels as if they've met before…**

 **Chapter 14: All out attack! A rookie's struggle: The school is attacked by a violent group of individuals. With Lennox and Shark unconscious and Kyoya now restrained, it's all up to Ruby to save the day. However, she soon receives unexpected help…**

 **There you guys go. These are the chapter listings for the next arc which will be the School Invasion Arc. This will be the last arc to helpfully introduce all the characters and develop them slightly before Kaito shows up and things start to get a move on with the plot. At this moment, it kinda feels like I'm feeding you guys filler instead of the plot as there are a lot of chapters to get through. I had originally planned out just over 70 up to the end of the WDC, but I realised that's way too much. Right now, I'm just trying to compress it all so there are fewer chapters to write that are filler based if you get what I mean. But this is hopefully not all filler as there are some important plot points to go through in each chapter.  
**

 **Now then, one other thing I'd like to say. I am completely open to suggestions for ideas. These can be character ideas, cards, character interactions or things you'd just like to see. Deck ideas too! I'd love to hear what suggestions you guys have for decks that you want to see used in the future. I'm not accepting OCs just to say as I have plenty already and I'm not really good at writing other peoples OCs, but I could try. Either way, I might open up slots later down the line when I need to fill in room for characters in season 2. But anyhow, if you do have any suggestions, leave them in your review or PM me and we can talk about it in more detail.**

 **Alright, I've rambled long enough now, and I'll leave you all in peace. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I you did, leave a review why. As for me, time for revision and research for exams! See ya in the next update!**


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